Rise of a New Lord
by burryk
Summary: Dyne, the son of Dante, finds himself stranded on a mission, accompanied by his uncle. Something seems seriously suspicious about the surrounding town, and Dyne's going to need all the help he can get.
1. Let's Begin

Hey everyone! This is the continuation of The Sons of Dante, my first fic. Guess who's back?! (Looks at Dyne)  
  
Dyne: Who, me?  
  
Burry: (Nods) Welcome back. It's time for you to get some action.  
  
Dyne: Woot!  
  
I had wanted to try something funny, yet serious, (like usual, I try to pop in a little humor every so often. . .) but since I can't think of any really funny crap, this will have to do. I don't have a clue yet how long this one's going to be, but I hope to see lots of reviews. Those who read my other fics will notice some of the characters. I just hope I can do this one better than the others. . . Okay, let me get this started and shut up. . .  
  
Before I forget. . .DISCLAIMER: I don't recall ever owning Devil May Cry, so it doesn't belong to me. Neither do Dante, Vergil, Mundus, or Trish (If I ever say anything of her!) I do own my baby Dyne, okay, along with most of the other characters.  
  
Chapter 1: Let's Begin  
  
Darkness all around. There was nothing for as far as the eye could see. Maybe if he kept searching, he'd find some light. . .  
  
A strange, eerie noise behind him. He turned to see a dark figure stooping over him. The figures face and body were undefined, covered in what looked like blackish goop. As he backed away, the figure let out a loud screech and the goop that covered him flew at the man, covering his legs and waist.  
  
He tried to remove the thick slime, pulling at it with his hands and trying to rip it off. This didn't help, because now the slime was on his arms. The slime suddenly began to pulsate and writhe, spreading up his body and arms. He now tried more desperately to get free, but found that his body wouldn't move.  
  
Now the goop covered his body all the way up to his neck. He was becoming exhausted from struggling with it, and began to relax. It would soon be over. He could see the darkness around him turning into more of a crimson color. He stared weakly up at the figure before him.  
  
The beings eyes gleamed a magnificent gold as it slowly began to open its mouth to screech. . .  
  
"RIIIIIIING!"  
  
Dyne yelped and gasped, trying to get up. He could feel his body fall as he lost his balance. The room around him spun as he fell backwards in his chair, his head hitting hard on the wall behind him. He lay there on the ground, looking up at the light fixture over his head.  
  
It took Dyne a few moments to collect himself. He was still in the Devil May Cry, the walls around gave that away with their demon head trophies. The air within the room was somewhat stuffy, since Dante forbid that the air conditioner be turned on and the phone was ringing. . .  
  
The phone was ringing.  
  
Dyne didn't answer it, he waited as it continued to chirp. Finally, the answering machine came on and requested a message. At the beep, Dyne could hear a very familiar, gruff voice.  
  
"Pick up the phone kid, I know you're there. You BETTER be there." Dante's voice grumbled.  
  
Dyne sighed and sprung from the ground, looking at the desk where the phone sat. He quickly smashed the speakerphone button. "I'm here. . ."  
  
Dante laughed. "You taking a nap again, boy?"  
  
"Nope, I was in the crapper."  
  
"Hah, hah riiiight." Dante said sarcastically. "Don't bother lying."  
  
Dyne scoffed and stepped away from the desk, going toward the small refrigerator Dante kept in the front room. "What do you want? Don't tell me you called to wake me up." Dyne grumbled. He was a bit upset about the nightmare he'd just been woken up from, but he was relieved that his dad had called and woken him. He didn't want to see the end of the dream.  
  
"Don't be an ass, Dyne. I've got a mission for you to do."  
  
Dyne scoffed again as he opened the small fridge. "What? Another kiddy mission? Please. . ."  
  
"No, I've got some information about some weird activities. I figured you could go check it out." Dante explained, ignoring Dyne's attitude.  
  
"What do you mean, 'weird activities'?" Without looking, Dyne fumbled around in the fridge until he found a package with a few pieces of old lunchmeat. "Why do you want to take a job with the leads of 'weird activities'?"  
  
Dante sighed. "Have you been in the fridge lately?"  
  
"In it right now." Dyne looked at the contents of the fridge. The contents were pathetic; there was one beer, some old tortillas Dante had bought to make burritos, the lunch meat in Dynes hands, and two slices of bread in the bag. Why the bread was in the fridge was beyond Dyne, because he always kept it out of the fridge. With a shrug, he grabbed the bread bag and pulled out the remaining slices. He quickly slapped the meat onto the bread. "I see what you mean. . ."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
Dyne took a bite out of the sandwich he'd just made. With a full mouth he began to speak. "When do you want me to go?"  
  
"Since it sounds like you're eating what's left in there, right away, please."  
  
Dyne sighed, swallowing. He made a face. "This tastes like crap."  
  
"That lunchmeat's three weeks old."  
  
Dyne looked down at the greenish tinted meat. With a shrug, he took another bite. He was too hungry to care. "I'll get on it now. Just tell me what I need to do."  
  
"You need to head to Europe. I've already gotten you a plane ready. The pilots got a map and mission objectives for you."  
  
Dyne popped the last of the old sandwich into his mouth. "Thanks old man."  
  
"Hey, don't forget your cell, just in case something goes wrong." Dante warned.  
  
Dyne nodded, going back to the desk where his cell phone laid. "Got it."  
  
"Give me a call when you get over there."  
  
"No problem. Bye."  
  
"See ya."  
  
Dyne clicked off the speakerphone. Maybe this wouldn't be too bad. . .  
  
Okay, first chapter, sorry it IS a bit bad. It'll be better later, promise. Well, I HOPE I can keep that promise. . . Please, review. You know I love it. 


	2. Planes and Annoying Devil Hunters

Well, at least someone reviewed. Thank you.  
  
Bustahead – I know you want Kaos, be calm. . .I'll was planning something close, 'kay? This is for you in the meantime. (Bashes Dyne in the head with a literature book)  
  
Dyne: Xx  
  
Okay, let's continue. . .  
  
Chapter 2 Planes and Annoying Devil Hunters  
  
Dyne was forced awake as his body crashed to the floor from his seat. It was actually a good thing really, because the same nightmare he always had had just started playing.  
  
"What the hell?!" Dyne snapped, righting himself best he could.  
  
"Sorry, just a bit of turbulence." The pilot called from the cockpit of the small plane.  
  
"You call that a 'bit' of turbulence?!?!" The plane was rattling around violently, keeping Dyne from fully regaining his balance.  
  
"We hit a storm. You're lucky I've kept us in the air for this long." The pilot argued.  
  
Dyne groaned. "I hate planes. . ."  
  
Dyne could hear the pilot swearing viciously from the cockpit. Since he'd been asleep, Dyne had no way of telling where they were. He leaned haphazardly onto one of the seats. "How much further do we have?" Dyne asked.  
  
"Another five miles or so is all. I could see the land earlier, but this storm came out of nowhere. . ." The pilot trailed off, apparently keeping his attention to flying. Dyne preferred that and managed to get himself seated.  
  
"This storm's just amazing." The pilot growled. Dyne glanced out his window, deciding to take a look himself. The sky was a dark purple black and rain poured in thick, almost opaque sheets. Dyne could see a flash of lightning every few moments.  
  
"Oh-ly shit!!" The pilot suddenly cried. There was a loud, deafening crash and Dyne was again flung from his seat, this time over the row in front of him. He landed hard on his head and right shoulder.  
  
"Hey kid!" The pilot grunted and yelled. "Grab a chute, we're gonna fuckin' crash!!"  
  
Dyne obeyed immediately, rolling from the ground. Despite the violent shaking and rattling of the plane, he found the parachutes, taking one and strapping it on.  
  
"Okay, now listen, when I tell you to, open the emergency hatch in the back." The pilot instructed.  
  
Dyne stumbled to the rear of the little plane, holding himself against the wall by the hatch. A few long minutes passed before Dyne heard the pilot shout.  
  
"Okay, go!!"  
  
Dyne opened the hatch. The air wasn't sucked out from the plane, apparently because they were at a low altitude.  
  
"What about you? Aren't you coming?" Dyne yelled out to the pilot as he prepared to jump.  
  
"I would. . . .but I can't, I'm sorry. Don't worry about me boy, just jump!!" The pilots voice was sad and seemed to be weakening.  
  
Dyne couldn't just leave the guy. He dashed up to the cockpit. "Come o—" Dyne was cut short when he noticed the pilot's problem. There was a huge gapping hole in the side of the cockpit, metal twisted and torn away from the front. What had caused it was unknown. The rain and wind poured through the hole, and Dyne could see the pilot wedged tightly between some of the debris.  
  
"What are you doing?! Go, now!" The pilot demanded as he caught sight of Dyne. Dyne ran over and began trying to push the twisted and mauled metal from atop the pilot, only causing the man to cry out in pain. Dyne could see that there was a long shaft of steel protruding from the mans torso.  
  
The man pushed Dyne away from him with one free arm. "Go! NOW!" He growled in pain. Dyne came closer once more, trying to push some of the debris from the pilot again. "You idiot!" The pilot hissed. "Do what I say boy!"  
  
"No way, I'm getting you out too!" Dyne growled, straining to move the metal. It wouldn't budge. The icy, prickling rain and wind pelted down into Dynes face and eyes from the hole, as if trying to keep him from the injured pilot.  
  
"You ain't savin' me boy, just get out now before it's too late!" The pilot yelled, his voice becoming hoarse.  
  
It was on the verge of too late now; the plane began to touch water, and Dyne leapt from the massive hole in the cockpit, plunging head first into freezing saltwater. He could hear nothing around him, only the dull roar of the rain above water. He managed to surface, gasping for air and peering around. There seemed to be nothing, only the wind and thick, blinding rain. . .He couldn't even see the plane.  
  
Dyne struggled to stay above water. He kept his eyes half shut, to keep the sharp falling rain from them. It was hard staying afloat, with his guns and sword.  
  
After an hour or so, just as suddenly as it had begun, the storm was over. The wind calmed some and the rain ceased. The sky changed to an overcast grey.  
  
"That was no ordinary storm." Dyne told himself. He looked around quickly. The pilot had said that they had only been a few miles from land, so maybe the was close.  
  
As luck would have it, only about 50 yards away Dyne could see a small piece of land jutting from a larger part. He sighed, swimming toward the smaller piece.  
  
Even though the wind had died down some, it really wasn't the greatest of improvements. The temperature was somewhere in the thirties Dyne guessed, and the heavy winds only made the chill more wretched.  
  
Things were worse as Dyne pulled himself onto the rocky embankment. The wind played around his body, chilling him to the bone.  
  
"I need warmth. . ." Dyne told himself, shivering some. He checked his surroundings to see that he was standing on a small bank that was below a tall Cliffside. Overhead, Dyne could see some sort of structure at the cliffs top.  
  
Dyne walked around the bank. The ground went in a circle around the cliff and as Dyne came around a little more, he could see a long, thin strip of land connecting to the mainland. Apparently, this little spot was something of a fort.  
  
"Probably an old prison." Dyne thought. That would make sense; keep people on a little island prison so they couldn't get away. "Like Alcatraz. . ." But how the hell could he get in? He needed shelter, fast. If he didn't find it soon, he'd freeze. Just then, he saw a small crack, a cave maybe, in the Cliffside. He jogged to it, squeezing through silently. "Thank god!"  
  
Dyne plopped to the ground, removing his soaking wet jacket. Good thing he'd chosen not to wear his trench, he'd have drowned from the weight of that piled on with everything else. He removed his guns and Alastor, shaking the water from the guns to clean them. He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out some papers and his cell phone.  
  
The phone was trashed. "Piece of crap." Dyne grumbled, hurling the thing against a wall. He chunked the damp papers, which had been his map and mission objectives. They weren't important anymore, for he'd already memorized his objectives.  
  
He began to check his bangle, which was still fine. Now Dyne noticed where he'd ended up. The crack in the cliff had taken him into what looked like a worked stone corridor. The dull lighting of torches illuminated some spots. The air was damp and cool, but not like the bitter coldness of outside.  
  
"To explore, or not to explore, that is the question." Dyne asked himself.  
  
"Just be careful. . ." A voice warned in Dyne's head.  
  
"I will. . ." Dyne grumbled. He stood up, ringed out his jacket and put it back on, then holstered his guns and sheathed Alastor.  
  
"I sense evil here. . ." The voice in Dyne's head mumbled.  
  
"No shit."  
  
If anyone had seen Dyne, they would have thought he was crazy. Only he could hear the voice of Cerbis, the spirit of his bangle.  
  
Cerbis hadn't always been in this bangle. He used to embody the massive gauntlet that Dyne used. Now, however, Dyne had taken the bangle his brother had given him and somehow merged the bangle and gauntlet together. Now, Cerbis was inside of the bracelet, and Dyne could summon the gauntlet at will. It was quite helpful, really.  
  
Dyne brushed his messy wet hair out of his face, not bothering to fix it. He wasn't planning on checking out the ladies today, so it was fine by him to look sloppy. He slowly proceeded down the hall, hands in his pockets.  
  
The entire hall was horribly quiet, the only sounds really being the crackling of the torches every now and then. Dyne had to do something to make some noise. He began humming something to lighten his mood a bit. It sounded jumpy and cute, and was something no one would ever catch Dyne singing with company. He didn't mind Cerbis hearing. What could he do about it?  
  
"I think you need to lay off the video games Dyne. . ."  
  
"Why?" Dyne argued.  
  
"Chocobos. . .?"  
  
Dyne laughed. "Aw, you don't like that song? I'll keep singing then." Now Dyne hummed louder. Cerbis groaned and sighed, feeling a prisoner of Dyne's annoyance.  
  
"Why? Why torment me?"  
  
"Because, there's no one else around to irritate."  
  
"AT LEAST SING SOMETHING ELSE!!!"  
  
Dyne stopped humming and thought. He then opened his mouth and began singing again. "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog, cryin' all th—"  
  
"**Oh god**!" Cerbis cried. Dyne could only imagine the poor spirit banging his head into the wall.  
  
As Dyne began to laugh, his voice was drowned out by a shrill cackling laughter. He stopped, hearing the sound of metal scrapping metal; the sound a pair of scissors make.  
  
"Well, guess I was wrong about today. I will be impressing some chicks today, just not in the way I'd like." Dyne smirked as two Sin Scissors appeared through the wall to his left. At least now he knew what the hell they were. He'd been reading and studying up on all different kinds of devils with Dante's books. It was amazing how much Dyne could learn it three years when he actually _WANTED _to learn the stuff.  
  
The first Sin flew at Dyne, its shears stretched. Dyne jumped into the air and over the sin, going at the other one. With Alastor, he swung downward onto the sin's face before it could block, shattering the mask in one clean blow. He rolled away as the scissors whirled to the ground.  
  
The remaining sin began circling Dyne now. It kept slicing the shears, just to make the high, ringing slicing sound. Dyne came at the sin, then jumped onto its mask. He hopped upward more, and then cleaved down at the devil's face. It blocked sloppily with its scissors, losing its guard for a moment. Dyne took this moment to jab forward into the sins face. With three hard gouges, the mask split and the sin screeched as it died, dissolving into thin air. The cackles of the sin eventually died off, leaving Dyne once more in the silent corridor alone.  
  
Dyne gave a smirk. This mission might not be so bad after all. . .  
  
I hope it doesn't seem to bad. I'll get another chapter soon, just so long as I see some reviews. (sniff, sniff) ;; Please, review, okay? Pretty pretty please! 


	3. Old Aquaintances

(Sigh) This is what I wind up writing when I'm listening to chocobo remixes. . .I think I should stop. . .before I end up making this thing bizarre. . .

Busta-- calm down! I have an idea planned out involving Kaos. . .

Chasm-- you have returned!! (glomps him) Yeay! You're back! So good to see you, but so close to school years end. (sniff)

Chapter 3 Old Acquaintances  
  
Dyne ran up a spiral staircase. He'd been through three floors of winding, labyrinth-like dungeons, and now he was working his way up to yet another one, he thought.  
  
"Can anyone say Dungeons and Dragons?" Dyne thought, sighing as he finally reached the top of the flight of stairs. "That's what this frickin' place reminds me of, a classic game dungeon. . ." He leaned against a large wooden door and rested for a moment. "When am I gonna reach the end of this place?"  
  
Within the other three levels, Dyne had torn through dozens of sins, along with a few blades. What all these devils were doing here was beyond Dyne. He could only figure they had taken up residence there some time ago, but it really didn't matter to him. They were there and that was that.  
  
Dyne pushed his body from the door and spun around, opening it slowly, in case something decided to take a bite at him from beyond. As he stepped into the long, curved hallway beyond, he could sense something dark.  
  
"Let me guess, more devils? Hmmm. . .I wonder where they could be?" Dyne thought sarcastically. He shut the door without glancing back toward it and began down the corridor. As he took a few steps, he heard a loud growl and a hiss from behind him.  
  
"I knew it. . ." He growled, dodging to the side and pressing himself against a wall just as a long, black spear stabbed toward him. He looked to see a shadow stuck to the wall in a large puddle of darkness, the area where its head was was jutting out from the wall to create the spear.  
  
Dyne drew his guns. They jerked violently as he shot round after round into the shadow. Now the devil hit the ground, forming into its catlike shape. It ran up to Dyne, trying to bite him. Dyne quickly hopped onto the wall, jumping from it and onto the wall opposite of that one. He kept jumping from one wall to the other until he was at the ceiling. He took out Alastor in his right hand and pushed off the ceiling with his left, to give himself more force. He came down at the shadow with a downward thrust.  
  
Sure, it seemed like a bad move, because right as the sword hit the devil, it shot numerous purple tinted spikes at Dyne. Dyne knew the sword did do some damage, and he rolled to his side and gave off two shots with his guns. The spells surrounding the shadow broke open, exposing its core. Dyne charged at it, flailing it repeatedly. He moved away and as the shadow reorganized the spells. He turned and began to run at full speed down the hall as he noticed that the shadow was red.  
  
"Keep going, before he bites ya!!" Dyne yelled at himself, jogging down the hall, the shadow right on his heels. It took a lunge at him, but he hopped up onto the wall and did as he had done before, jumping from wall to wall. He didn't go upward, however, he stayed about halfway up the wall, just out of reach of the shadow. "Just gotta keep this up 'til it blows."  
  
Finally, the shadow couldn't withstand the damage any longer and it exploded. Dyne let himself slide smoothly down the wall, sheathing Alastor.  
  
"Yeay, I won!" Dyne seemed quite happy with himself. He wouldn't admit it, but he hated shadows. Hated them with a burning, wicked passion. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy toying with just one of them, but more than two was just a pain in the ass. They weren't exactly the easiest suckers to kill, and with their grabbing and flinging you around before they exploded, hurting you as they died if not killing you with them. . . .they were just a wee bit annoying. . .  
  
Dyne dusted himself off, continuing down the hall. He came to its end and yet another door.  
  
"Gee, what ever could be hiding behind this door?" Dyne wondered sarcastically. He kicked the door hard, and it flew from its hinges, falling over onto the bottom step of another flight of spiral stairs. "Figures. . ." With a sigh, he jumped over the toppled door, taking the steps two at a time. "Up, up, up we go. . ." Dyne grumbled. He soon got to the last step, coming onto the landing and putting his hand on the new door before him. "Where we'll come out. . ."  
  
He swung the door open. It was a large, open room, nothing like the narrow corridors he'd been through in the lower levels. Across the room, Dyne could see where there had at one time been a pair of double doors, but they had been busted down. Through the opening he could see the narrow strip of land he had seen from the bottom of the cliff, only now he was at its level.  
  
"Thank god! I'm out of here!" Dyne stepped from the door, shutting it quickly. He walked briskly toward the opening, quite ready to leave this abandoned prison. He knew now that that was exactly what it was, because he'd seen some cells in the lower levels.  
  
As he stepped closer, his foot suddenly sunk into the ground. He looked down, seeing that his foot had just gone through the stone floor. He could hear rocks shifting crumbling and in a sudden flash, he was falling.  
  
Dyne let out a long yell as he fell. There was a sudden wretched pain in Dyne's head and chest and Dyne saw white for a moment even though his eyes were closed. His chest felt ten times worse. He opened his eyes to see that he was lying on his back, looking up at the broken ceiling above him. As he tried to move, the pain in his chest flared up, causing a new, fresh wave to dullen his senses.  
  
"Oh, god. . ." Dyne grumbled as he noticed the cause of the pain. There was a large rebar rod protruding from the right side of his chest. He grabbed a hold of it, trying to remove it, but his fingers couldn't get a good grip; his hands kept slipping in his own blood. "Damn it. . ." Dyne wince in pain, his mind fogging over. His vision dimmed and he began to close his eyes again. His arms released the iron rod slowly as they fell to his side.  
  
". . ." Dyne was now somewhere else. All around him was darkness. "Did I die?" He wondered. This place could have been hell, maybe. Dyne soon realized where he was. It was close to hell, for it haunted him continuously.  
  
"I'm dreaming again. . ." He groaned. It was the same dream again! Why the hell was he having these things so frequently now?  
  
Right on schedule, the dark figure appeared behind Dyne and shot the dark goop at him. Dyne moved, trying to keep from being covered, but some of it fell onto his foot. He kicked his leg around, but the stuff was stuck like glue. It started crawling up his leg slowly, causing him to panic.  
  
"Why do you continue to struggle, boy?" the figure asked in a calm, rather kindred type voice. Dyne was surprised; the figure had never spoken before, and if it did speak, Dyne didn't expect that sort of kindness. He expected some kind of demonic voice.  
  
"What?" Dyne breathed as the slime made its way up his chest and arms. He was still thrashing violently to remove the goop.  
  
"Why struggle? Why not just give in?"  
  
Why did Dyne struggle every time he had this dream? It never helped, and he knew it wouldn't, so why resist?  
  
"Because. . .I don't want. . ." Dyne stopped speaking as a sudden, excruciating pain ran through his chest. His eyes were snapped open and he screamed in surprise. He sat up quickly, holding his chest. Now he was awake, and in a small room.  
  
"HOLY CRAP!" He gasped. His head spun, aching horribly and he plopped back down onto the bed he was somehow in. He noticed that his shirt and jacket were taken off, along with his weapons. The wound in his chest was still open, but cleaned some. He growled and tried to sit back up, but his wounds hurt to badly.  
  
"Hey boy, just calm down." A male voice told from beside Dyne. The voice sounded familiar and Dyne turned to see who it was. Unfortunately, Dyne's vision was blurred horribly, so all he could see was a large man, standing next to him. Dyne squinted, correcting his eyes somewhat to see the mans face better. His eyes were icy blue, his hair white and brushed back. He sort of reminded Dyne of Dante, only much bigger and heavier built.  
  
"Who are you?" Dyne asked weakly, sounding very small and childish. The man smiled, moving closer to Dyne. He helped sit him upright and began bandaging Dyne's chest.  
  
"I'm Vergil." The man explained. "What's your name kid?"  
  
"Dyne." Dyne winced some as Vergil tied the bandages.  
  
"Where have I heard that name?" Vergil mumbled. "Have we met?"  
  
Dyne thought for a moment. He had heard the name Vergil somewhere before, but wasn't sure where. He didn't recognize the man either. "I don't think so. I'd remember someone like you. . ."  
  
Vergil sighed. "Well, you're a lucky kid, Dyne. I really don't know how you're still alive after that wound."  
  
Dyne didn't say anything. Now a days, he really didn't like to draw attention to the fact that he was part devil.  
  
Vergil could sense it though. "Are you an enemy, or a friend?" Vergil asked sternly. Dyne could see him bring up a gun, pointing it directly at Dyne's head. With the pain, Dyne couldn't think well enough to sort this out.  
  
"What?" He asked dumbly. "I don't know. . .what are you?"  
  
Vergil continued to point the gun at Dyne. "Depends on why you're here."  
  
"I came here because I'm a devil hunter. . ." That was true, he just didn't want to say exactly who he was. Dyne put one hand over his face, then rolled his head to one side, away from Vergil.  
  
At this, Vergil lowered the gun. "Just wanted to make sure. Can't tell who's on whose side anymore."  
  
Dyne groaned. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Before Vergil could explain, the sound of a door opening filled the room. Vergil turned, but Dyne continued to lay how he was. It didn't matter who it was, he couldn't see straight anyways.  
  
"Vergil, what was that yell just a minute ago?" A female voice asked. The sound of the woman made Dyne turn, just to see if she was worth a peek. He squinted hard, but couldn't get a decent view of her, half because Vergil was blocking the view. He rolled his head back over.  
  
"This guy." Vergil explained. "I found him beat up earlier. He'll be okay though. Devil."  
  
"Is he with them?" The woman asked.  
  
"Nah, just a rookie devil hunter looks like. You see a lot of demon devil hunters these days. Look at us."  
  
"True. Are you sure he isn't lying?"  
  
"I don't have any proof to say if he is or not."  
  
The girl sighed and stepped over by Dyne. She could only see the back of his head; his black messy hair covered his face from view. She came closer to him, not knowing if he was awake or not.  
  
Then, he rolled over, looking up at her. His vision was good enough to see her this close. Her hair was short and silver, her eyes aqua.  
  
She gazed down at him, taking in his black hair with the white tuff and the large scar that went over his right eye. Also the icy, wild blue eyes. . .they hadn't looked quite like that last time she'd seen him. . .  
  
"Dyne?" the woman gasped in awe.  
  
"You?" Dyne moaned. "Nevia, right?"  
  
Nevia scoffed. "Aw hell," She turned to Vergil. "Yeah, you can trust him, but he's an annoying bastard."  
  
"What?" Dyne began, sounding somewhat sarcastic. "You didn't miss me? I missed you, babe."  
  
This seemed to anger Nevia and she spun back to Dyne. "Don't call me 'babe', you prick!" She growled angrily and moved away from Dyne, throwing herself down into a chair in the corner of the room.  
  
"You two know each other?" Vergil asked, not quite sure what was happening.  
  
"Yep, we do." Dyne groaned.  
  
"Old ex's or something?"  
  
"Nah, she's just a bitch is all." Dyne explained.  
  
"Yeah, and you're an ass!" Nevia shot back.  
  
Dyne smirked, feeling good about being able to annoy someone. "Hey, how're your little birdies doing? Anyone else shoot some of them?"  
  
"Dyne, that's irrelevant to anything, you asshole. You're just trying to see how much you can piss me off!" Nevia wanted quite badly to hop up and slap him, but she decided it best not to. "I guess Dante raised you to be just like him, huh?"  
  
"Nah, he hates the way I act. I get on his nerves." Dyne laughed, but stopped short as pain shot through his chest again.  
  
Vergil cocked an eyebrow. "Wait, Dante who? Not Dante Sparda, right?"  
  
"Yeah!" Nevia spat. "This little ass is Dante's offspring."  
  
Vergil laughed at this, causing both Dyne and Nevia to stare. "Well," He put one hand into Dyne's hair and started ruffling it. "Nice to see you, nephew."  
  
Now Dyne realized where he'd heard the name Vergil. Dante had said it a few times when he had told him about he and his brother when they were kids. That might explain why Dyne had thought Vergil resembled Dante.  
  
"Um. . hey unc." Dyne grumbled.  
  
Vergil looked at Dyne for a moment. "Can you stand?"  
  
Dyne tested his muscles, feeling like he could get up now. His chest felt somewhat better and so did his head. He wavered a bit as he stood, but Vergil steadied him.  
  
"There we go, now lets get a good look at you." Vergil began examining the boy. His body was rather slender and skinny, but his muscles were tight and well toned. His face and hair reminded Vergil very much of Dante, except for the hair color and the fact that he looked younger. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and black mid calf boots. All in all, he was a rather strapping youngster.  
  
"You look good kid. Your old man took good care of you." Vergil commented.  
  
"Um. . .thanks?" Dyne said, somewhat confused.  
  
"I can't help but feel like we've met before though. . ." Vergil said, trying to place Dyne somewhere in his memories.  
  
"Yeah, you saw him a few years ago, remember?" Nevia reminded coolly. "I think you fought him in Berail."  
  
Vergil's eyes widened. "Oh dear, that was him?" He glanced at Dyne, realizing that Nevia was right. He remembered that Dyne was a winy, annoying boy. "Oh, you're right. . .Sorry about then kid."  
  
Dyne shrugged. He struggled to remember Vergil, but couldn't recall fighting him in Berail. "When did I fight you?"  
  
"You were wining because you were hungry, right? I knocked you out so you'd shut up." Vergil laughed. "Nevia's right, you're annoying."  
  
Dyne looked at him in shock. "You were that knight with the big ass sword?!?!"  
  
Vergil only nodded.  
  
"Well, hell. . ."  
  
Nevia stood up, stretching. "Well, it's getting late, so I'd suggest we go get a place back to town."  
  
Vergil nodded. "Right, right." He began picking up Dyne's belongings, handing them to Dyne. "Get your stuff on."  
  
Dyne obliged and was soon ready to continue on. "Why am I coming with you guys?" He asked himself aloud.  
  
Nevia stared at him. "You came here to help, right? I'd imagine you came out here to kill demons, right?"  
  
"Nah, I came all the way here just to find and irritate the hell out of you." Dyne laughed sarcastically. "Of course I'm here for demons. Dad told me to come investigate this place because of some 'weird activities'." Dyne explained.  
  
"Well, I guess they are weird. . ." Vergil grumbled.  
  
"What's really happening?" Dyne asked.  
  
"We'll explain on the way."  
  
(sigh) That's all for this chapter. I doubt it was the best. . .School lets out next week, and I'll try to put up one more chapter before then. (Mainly so busta can kind of have her wish!) Review, please. 


	4. Unexpected Company

Okay, I managed to get this out before schools end! Yeay! I was looking though some papers and found an old hard copy I'd printed out of T.S.o.D. . . .Man, that thing sucked! Typos left and right, chronological screw ups, people mess ups, tiny ass simple sentences. . .e-yuk! I hope my crap's better now a days, because that just sucked!  
  
Chapter 4 Unexpected Company  
  
Dyne followed Nevia and Vergil as they departed from the prison. They had went around the massive hole that had crumbled during Dyne's fall and were now on the land bridge that connected the prison to the mainland.  
  
Dyne could see what looked like a small town across the bridge. There were a few small homes and buildings, some in major need of remodeling.  
  
"What's wrong with this place anyways?" Dyne asked as he saw a few children playing with a ball under the watch of two adult women. There didn't seem to be any problems with this place, just a quaint little town.  
  
Vergil looked around before he glanced back at Dyne. "I'll explain when we get to our place. It's too dangerous to talk about it out here in public."  
  
Dyne watched the children as he passed them. Dangerous? What was so dangerous about a bunch of kids? Were they going to pop them in the face with their ball or what? Dyne nodded a hello to the two ladies as he passed them too. Maybe Vergil meant the adults. . .but why would Dyne be scared of a couple of human chicks?  
  
Dyne stopped as he heard something that sounded like a pop. Following the sound came a loud yell, but it seemed quite far away from them. He heard it again a few moments later, coming from his left.  
  
Vergil turned to Dyne, a look of curiousity on his face. "Dyne?"  
  
"What was that?" Dyne whispered. He heard the sound again. The yell that came after it sounded so painful. Dyne could see now where it seemed to be coming from. There was a steep, rocky hill to his left, and beyond the hill Dyne could see what appeared to be a building. There was another snap, then a cry of pain.  
  
"You hear it too?" Vergil asked, looking to where Dyne was gazing.  
  
Dyne took off toward the hill, and Nevia turned with a growl.  
  
"Where the hell is he going?" She groaned.  
  
Vergil turned to her and smiled. "I'm going to go with him. You go on back and we'll catch up in a bit."  
  
Nevia growled, agitated. "Fine, go on." She spun around on her heel, tromping off.  
  
By the time Vergil caught up to Dyne, he was already at a window of the building. The place wasn't quite a building, but more of the outer shell of one. There was nothing inside of the place, only the four walls around it with no roof.  
  
Inside, Dyne watched four men. One of the four was tied, hanging to a long I beam that jutted from one of the walls. He was shirtless, and his back covered in long, bleeding gashes. Dyne couldn't see his face, because it was drooped onto his chest.  
  
The other three men stood on the ground, laughing. One of them, a man with dark brown hair, held a whip in one hand. "Are you going to calm down now, boy?"  
  
The one tied up brought his face up a little, revealing dirty gray hair. His eyes were still hidden. He breathed heavily, then spit at the man with the whip.  
  
"Screw you. . .when my father—"  
  
The boy was cut off by the whip tearing into his side. He cried out, then fell silent again.  
  
The one with the whip laughed. "Your father? He ain't going to come. What could he do anyways? By the time he got here, you'd already be ours."  
  
"I'll never do what you say, you filthy, disgusting, human bast—"  
  
Another whip lash stopped the boy. This time, he let himself be limb, deciding it better to remain quiet.  
  
"Stupid stubborn fool." The one with the whip grumbled, shaking his head. He turned to the other two men with him. "Get him down and into the cage."  
  
Dyne hadn't seen it before, but in one of the corners of the room, there was a large steel cage. The two men quickly began to pull the boy down. As he plopped to the ground, they began to drag his sagging body toward the cage.  
  
As they dragged him closer, he leapt up in a sudden burst of energy, getting free of one of the two men. The other held on tightly, trying his best to stay anchored where he was, but then the boy turned on him. He grappled the man to the ground, clawing and punching at his face. If they thought they were going to keep him captive, they'd have hell to pay for it.  
  
The man was screaming horribly, punching out at the boy. He tried to get a hit at the boys face, but the kid was quick, moving his head to one side. As the man's arm flew by, he latched onto it and bit him, sinking his teeth deep into the man's lower arm. The guy bellowed now, trying to get the kid off of him, but to no avail; the boy was stuck for good.  
  
That was until the other two men came to help. The one who had had the whip managed to slam the boy in the back of his neck, knocking him loose from the others arm. The boy crumpled to the ground, laying silent and still.  
  
"Oh shit! Look at what he did to me!" The one who had been bitten cried, holding up his arm. There was a large chunk taken out where the boy had bitten.  
  
The one with the whip ordered that the other two leave and they obeyed, running quickly to get some first aid. As they left, the man turned back to the boy, who was still laying quietly.  
  
"You're a spunky little brat, but that'll soon change." He said coolly. He picked the boy up harshly and brought him to the cage, tossing him in and locking the door tight. With that finished, he tossed the whip down, walking away and through a hole in one of the walls that had apparently been made for a door.  
  
After a few moments, Dyne felt safe about going down. He climbed through the window and slowly began toward the cage. As he came closer, he could see the boy beginning to shift. Dyne felt Vergil put a hand on his shoulder and looked back at him.  
  
"Be careful, this guy might be vicious." Vergil warned. Well, both had seen what he'd done to the guy's arm, they didn't want to take any chances.  
  
Dyne came up to the cage, leaning in close to look at the guy. His back was to Dyne, letting Dyne see about eight long slashes. He was moving around some now, and let out a small groan.  
  
"Hey." Dyne whispered. The man sat up weakly, turning slightly so that Dyne was able to see his face. Despite his ashy hair color, his face seemed quite young; he looked no more than eighteen, give or take a year. His eyes seemed forlorn yet wild, gleaming a brilliant purple. Dyne had never seen someone with that eye color.  
  
"Hey, are you okay?" Dyne asked. He doubted that the boy felt very good, since he had just been flogged numerous times. The boy managed to stand, stumbling a little at first before he stood solidly. His body was very lean yet tone, his skin well tanned. He turned completely to Dyne, glaring at him violently.  
  
There wasn't even time to blink before the boy had his hands around Dyne's throat. His grip was malicious, and Dyne could tell that he meant to crush his windpipe. Dyne choked, trying to get Vergil to help him. Vergil was quick to his aid, but even he couldn't remove the boys arms. Dyne stared weakly at the boy, whose eyes were lit brightly.  
  
"Stop!" Vergil growled, still trying to free Dyne. "We aren't your enemy! Let him go, now!"  
  
The boy seemed to listen. He pushed Dyne back from the cage, causing him to trip on his own feet and fall to the ground, gasping for air. Vergil went to his side, making sure that he was alright.  
  
"If you aren't my enemy. . ." The boy began in a calm and very young voice. "then who are you? Are you with my father?"  
  
Vergil shook his head. "We are devil hunters. I am Vergil and this is my nephew, Dyne."  
  
The boy looked somewhat upset, but Vergil couldn't tell if he was angry or ashamed. The boy bowed his body. "I'm horribly sorry sir. I didn't know. . .I thought he was one of them. . ."  
  
"To hell you say!?" Dyne coughed. He wanted to stand up and tear the little brat to pieces, but his mind spun too badly to allow him to. "Now you do, huh?!"  
  
The boy sighed. "Please forgive me, sir. I am Fayze Sheltings. I swear, I didn't know."  
  
Dyne didn't seem to be quite as upset as he usually would have been, so he just sat there, staring at the boy. "I forgive you, for now. . ."  
  
Fayze sat back onto the ground. "Tell me though, has my father sent you? Is that why you're here?"  
  
Vergil shook his head. "Afraid not kid."  
  
Fayze held a sullen look upon his face. "I see. . ." He was quite until Dyne was able to stand, then he watched as Dyne began to circle the cage. "What are you doing sir?"  
  
"Well," Dyne began, moving to the locked door of the cage. "I intend to get you out of here.  
  
"But how? I'd do it myself, but I'm too exhausted. . ."  
  
Dyne cocked a brow at Fayze, then tapped at the lock that latched the door. "Well, I'm not, so here we go. . ." Dyne took a step back, pulling out Alastor. "I'd suggest you step back, buddy."  
  
Fayze did so just as Dyne tore the blade down onto the heavy iron lock. It smashed with the blow, falling to the cage floor. Dyne put Alastor away, opening the door slowly.  
  
"There you go, free as a bird. . ."  
  
Fayze stepped outside. He stretched weakly, then sighed. "I'd give you a proper thank you, but. . ." He closed his eyes and fell back, being caught up by Vergil. He was silent with the exception of his breathing.  
  
Vergil looked around cautiously. "I don't know what the hell's going on, but we'd better get back to Nevia, now."  
  
Well, sorry if it was short. This will be the last chapter for some time. (sob) I won't be writing anymore for the school year, but I'm going to go read everyone's updated stuff before I get out of here. So, see you guys all some day soon! (I'd make a smily face, but the quick edit thingy won't let me. . .curse that quick edit!!!!) 


	5. Chapter 5

WOO HOO!! I'm back in business! I should be here to stay for some time, so I hope. I finally have my own computer, so school can kiss my ass now, cause I'm graduated! This is sweet. I hope you guys don't mind this chap, because I still think I suck. Hello to busta, who I know will read this. (Waves happily)  
  
Chapter 5 Some Things Revealed  
  
Dyne trudged into the small apartment room, Vergil following closely behind with Fayze draped over his shoulder. Dyne leaned Alastor against the wall by the door. Nevia was sitting on a couch in the living room, sipping a cup of tea as she saw the three come in. Her eyes immediately fell onto the wounded and unconcious youth Vergil was carrying.  
  
"What happened?" She asked in a concerned tone, standing and coming over to Vergil. She helped him remove the boy from his shoulder and brought him over to the couch, laying him down. She rolled him onto his side, inspecting his back. "Who did this?" Nevia demanded.  
  
"Some guys." Vergil explained. "I don't know why yet. . ."  
  
Nevia brisky went into the kitchen, Dyne following. He watched her grab up a rag. She glanced over to him. "Don't just stand there, get me a bowl of water, you moron." She commanded.  
  
"Yes ma'am." Dyne said sarcastically, finding a deep bowl. He went to the sink and filled it half way with water, following Nevia back into the living room. She took the bowl and dipped the rag into it, then began to dampen Fayze's back.  
  
"Who would do this to a kid?" Nevia mumbled to herself. Dyne wondered what the boy had been doing. Maybe those guys had been in a gang or something and Fayze had betrayed them. But that didn't explain what they had been meaning about joining them or anything.   
  
Now Nevia submerged the rag again into the bowl, causing the water to become red. She gently rubbed Fayze's back some more, cleaning around the wounds. "Well, looks like he's a demon. The wounds are already beginning to heal. He ought to be alright." Nevia assured.  
  
"Good." Began Vergil. "Maybe we can get some information from him."  
  
Dyne snapped his head around to Vergil at this point. "That reminds me, you were going to tell me what was going on in this place when we got back here. So what's up?"  
  
Vergil sighed. "Well, we aren't one hundred percent on that right now, but we have good reason to believe that the people here are worshipping some kind of devil." Vergil explained.  
  
Dyne had heard something like that before. Dante had told him how Mundus had been worshipped by some. "Is it Mundus?"  
  
Vergil shook his head. "Nah, can't be. He's not around anymore." Vergil plopped down on the carpeted floor next to the couch and leaned on one hand. "But for the past few weeks, there have been some demons on the loose, but they aren't attacking anyone."  
  
"Why not?" Dyne asked curiously.  
  
"Well, the humans seem to want them here. The people are all acting odd."  
  
"Odd how?"  
  
Vergil sighed again. "I can't really explain how, they just seem. . .weird. . ."  
  
Everyone turned their attention to Fayze as he began to shift around on the couch. He let out a small groan and rolled over painfully.  
  
"Ah, you're up." Vergil said, watching the boy blink weakly.  
  
Fayze groaned again, checking out his surroundings. There was a coffee table in front of him and sitting on the floor next to it was Vergil. Nevia was knelled on the other side of the table, Dyne standing right behind her. The room was a small living room with hunter green wallpaper patterned with lighter green flowers. He could see a tv beyond the coffee table. "Where am I?"  
  
"In our apartment." Vergil explained, shifting his weight to the other arm. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"My back still hurts pretty bad, but better than before, I guess. . ." Fayze said in a light, almost sleepy tone. Vergil nodded, glad to see that the kid was okay. Fayze moved around some, trying to relieve some pain from his back and decided it best to just sit up, but as he did so, Nevia put a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Lay back down. You should rest."  
  
"Yeah," Vergil piped in. "Those guys did quite a number on you." Fayze frowned and looked down at the floor, gritting his teeth, remembering what had been done to him.  
  
"Bastards. . .I swear I'll kill them for that. . .They even used my own whip to hit me too. . ." Fayze looked back up and to Vergil. "You guys didn't happen to pick my whip up when you got me, did you?"  
  
Dyne, who had swiped the whip off the ground when they were leaving, held it up, examining it. "This?" It seemed to be made of leather, quite a well made bull whip. There was a small red gem attached to the end of the whips handle.  
  
"Yes, that's it. Could I have it please?" Fayze asked, putting out a hand to take it. Dyne nodded, handing it over. "Can't be losing this. . ."  
  
"What's so special about a whip?" Dyne asked. He didn't see any value in a little whip, that is, unless a chick had it. . .then things could get kinky. A small smirk spread across Dyne's face as he thought about it. Chicks with whips could be a good thing.  
  
"Well, it's actually a very special weapon. I value it more than you probably do your sword." Fayze explained.  
  
"Ah." Dyne could understand that. "What do you mean 'very special'?  
  
Fayze smiled thinly, and for a moment, Dyne thought he saw fangs. He shook off the thought as Fayze held up the whip. "Watch." Suddenly, smoke seemed to emit from the weapon, fully enveloping it from view. When the smoke disipated, all that was left was the little red gem.  
  
Dyne cocked a brow. "Okay. So it can be carried around conveniently?" He could do that too with his Cerbis gauntlet, so that didn't seem that cool.  
  
"That's not all, watch this now." Fayze assured. He held the little orb up in the palm of his hand. "Ken." Fayze muttered. The orb glowed slightly, and again smoke enveloped it. The smoke spread upward, into the shape of a sword. When the smoke dissappeared again, in its place was a well crafted, thin broadsword about four feet in length with the same small red gem on the end of the hilt. Fayze took ahold of the handle and showed it off. Everyone seemed impressed. "How's that?"  
  
Dyne's eyes widened. "Woah! Cool, how'd you do that?"  
  
"That's the power of this weapon. It's a multi morphing weapon." Fayze began to explain. "My father and his friend got it for me when they were in Japan once."  
  
Dyne stared at the blade in Fayze's hands. "How's it work?"  
  
"Well, it goes by command words. You say the weapon you want, and it changes into that weapon." Fayze explained, making the sword convert back into the little gem.  
  
"Can I see it?" Dyne was springing a little on the balls of his feet now, like a little kid seeing a new toy. Fayze felt happy to see that someone was interested in something of his, so he smiled warmly and put out his hand.  
  
"Go ahead."  
  
Dyne smirked, taking the gem and inspecting it. "I just say a weapon?" Fayze nodded. Dyne smirked again and excitedly held the gem out in the palm of his hand. "Sword." There was a moment of silence, and nothing happened. Dyne frowned, staring at the orb. "Come on, sword!" Still, nothing happened. Dyne looked down at Fayze, who had a childish smile across his face. "What gives? Why isn't it working?"  
  
Fayze chuckled softly. "Sorry, I forgot. Like I said, my dad got it in Japan, so you have to use japanese commands." He explained.  
  
Dyne groaned. He knew very little japanese, maybe enough to ask where the bathroom was or what it was he was eating. He didn't have a clue on how to say weapon names. "Aw, man. . ." He handed the gem back to Fayze, who put it away in his pant pocket.  
  
"Sorry sir." Fayze apoligized. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. When he opened them, he looked around. "By the way, I can't remember if you told me your names."  
  
"I'm Vergil." Vergil piped, standing from the floor. He seemed to stoop over everyone, making himself quite intimidating.  
  
"I'm Nevia." Nevia introduced. "I cleaned up your cuts."  
  
Fayze nodded. "Thank you." He looked over to Dyne. "What about you?"  
  
Dyne stood proudly, trying to make himself almost or as intimidating as Vergil. "I'm Dyne."  
  
Fayze smiled softly, taking another deep breath. He could feel now that his back was almost all the way mended. "Well, I can't thank you enough for helping me out."  
  
"Hey, no problem." Nevia said kindly. "Just helping someone in need."  
  
Dyne stretched longly and looked down at Nevia. "Well, now that I've done my good deed for the day, I'm hungry." He said loudly, so that everyone would know. "What are we eating?"  
  
Nevia shot his a dirty look. What made him think she was planning on making him anything to eat? Well, she had figured on feeding him, but that wasn't the point. Besides, there wasn't much in the apartment to cook. . . "I've got to go get some stuff to make dinner." At this point, she stood up, adjusting her clothes. "I'll be back in a bit."  
  
Everyone, especially Dyne, watched her stride to the door and leave the apartment room, leaving an akward silence within the living room. Dyne took a seat on the couch next to Fayze, leaving Vergil to stand alone in the room. Vergil figured that now was as good a time as ever to begin questioning Fayze.  
  
"So Fayze," Vergil began, starting to pace the room. "Why's a kid like you in a place like this?"  
  
Fayze shifted a bit at the question, seeming reluctant to answer. "Well, it's a bit complicated. . ."  
  
Vergil looked over to the wall above the tv where a clock hung. It was five fifteen. "We got some time. I wouldn't expect Nevia to be home for an hour or so, and then we won't be eating for another hour."  
  
Dyne groaned at that statement. He was hungry now. By the time that wench got back, he'd be dead of starvation, at the very least he'd be in wining mode.  
  
Fayze sighed, then decided to begin. "Well, this is going to sound a bit far fetched, but it has to do with a dream I keep having."  
  
Dyne stared over at Fayze. A dream? He couldn't mean. . . it had to be a coincidince.  
  
"A dream?" Vergil repeated, looking rather concerned for a moment. Dyne saw the look quickly disappear. Fayze nodded, to show that he'd heard him out right.  
  
"Yeah, me and my dad keep having these weird dreams. It's almost like someones trying to call us. . .trying to get us." Fayze trailed off some, looking a bit unsettled. Dyne was now even more curious than ever. So maybe he wasn't the only one having these bizarre nightmares. . .  
  
"So, why come here? What does this have to do with your dreams?" Vergil asked, trying to get the boy to continue.  
  
"My dad heard about this place, and for some reason we just felt like. . .like this place would answer why we were having the dreams. I don't quite understand the feeling myself, but. . ." Again he trailed off, rubbing his arm for comfort. Vergil stopped pacing, staring Fayze in the eye.  
  
"So, your dad sent you here? Alone?"  
  
"I chose to come, but my father tried to persuade me to stay away. . .I should have listened. . ."  
  
"Do you have any ideas as to what's going on here?" Vergil asked.  
  
"I'm not sure. . ." Fayze told.  
  
Vergil proceeded to pace again. This action seemed to make Fayze feel pressured, probably because of Vergil's intimidating nature. "Why were those guys beating you? Any clue?" Vergil asked.  
  
"They said that I was. . .chosen? Yeah, that's it, chosen was the word. They caught me in the streets. . .there were so many people around. About six guys came up, clubbed me in the head before I could get one hit in. No one even tried to help! Next thing I know, they had me tied up, asking me if I'd join them." Fayze scoffed and chuckled lightly. "Can you believe that? They knock the shit out of me, tie me up, then ask me to 'join them'. Arrogant little asses. . .then, when I say no, they flog the hell out of me with my own whip."  
  
"I doubt you simply told them 'no', right?" Vergil asked, somewhat amused.  
  
"I'm sure they got the general idea. . .a little spit in the eye and a few choice words ought to get the message across, right?"  
  
Vergil chuckled. "Of course. I heard one of the guys make a statement about your father when you mentioned him."  
  
"Yeah. I think they want him too. I really don't understand what they could possibly want with us."  
  
Vergil stopped pacing again. "Well, why don't I go try to find out?"  
  
Fayze cocked his head. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I'm pretty sure that most of this town is in on whatever it is that's going on. If that's the case, it shouldn't be too hard to squeeze some info out of someone." Vergil explained.  
  
Fayze nodded. "I see."  
  
Vergil moved his attention to Dyne, who seemed to be brooding over something. "Hey, Dyne."  
  
Dyne snapped his eyes over to his uncle. "What?"  
  
"I'm going out. When Nevia gets in, tell her that I went to gather information, okay?" Vergil ordered.  
  
Dyne nodded dreamily, his mind still on other matters. He was still pondering over these dreams. "Yeah, no problem."  
  
Vergil cocked a brow at Dyne, then turned and left. Now it was just Dyne and Fayze. Now it was Dyne's turn to do the Q&A.  
  
"So. . .Fayze. . ." Dyne began, feeling a bit awkward about what he wanted to ask.  
  
Fayze looked over to him. "Yeah?"  
  
"About your dreams. . . What are they like? I mean, what are they about?"  
  
Fayze sighed deeply. "Well, you won't make fun of me or nothing, right?"  
  
"Nah, they can't be that bad." Dyne assured.  
  
Fayze shifted, resting his now completely healed back on the couch. "Okay, starts out. . .I'm in a hospital room. I'm sitting on a bed, when a man comes in and asks me to come with him. When I first started having the dreams, I thought it was the docter, but he's wearing this hat and his face is all shadowed. . .well, in the beginning, I would follow him. We leave the room, and start down a hallway. At first, everything's alright, but then it starts getting dark. . .then the walls start turning red. There are these wierd moans and wails. . .and then I wake up."  
  
Dyne scoffed. "Sounds like you've been playing too much Silent Hill." Dyne conducted with a laugh. "I mean, hospitals, then red walls. . ."  
  
"No, no. . .you said you wouldn't make fun."  
  
"Sorry. Is there more?" Fayze nodded. "Then please, continue."  
  
"Well, first off, the hospital is this one that my father used to take me to when I was little. I remember the way it looked. . ."  
  
"What were you in a hospital for?" Dyne interrupted.  
  
"It was a special hospital. One that'll keep things like. . .well, me quiet. Devils and the like can't just get accepted to a normal hospital, you know? What would the docters in a 'normal' hospital think when they went to do an operation and suddenly the wound they made to do something starts healing up? It would make quite a scene. . .My father used to take me there to get check ups and stuff. Regular stuff you take your kid to get done."  
  
Dyne could understand that. Dante took him for checkups to similar types of hospitals when he was little. "Okay, okay. Back to the dreams then?"  
  
Fayze nodded, then looked down to the floor. "Right. Well, after I kept having this dream, I started to hesitate about following the man. He would try to persuade me in this calm, cool voice. I eventually straight out told him no, but then he would grab my arm and pull me down the hall by force. He was too strong to get away from. . .but I always wake up when I hear the cries. . ." He turned his head back up, looking to Dyne, who was staring down at the table, a disgruntled look on his face.  
  
"You okay, Dyne?" Fayze asked, concern riding his words. Dyne snapped his head up, gazing at Fayze wildly.  
  
The dream was so similar. It couldn't be coincidince. The setting was different, but the main plot to the dream was the same, no doubt there. Dyne wasn't alone here. . . "Yeah, I'm fine." Dyne finally answered. He wasn't about to start telling anyone about his own dreams, after keeping them secret for so long. "By the way. . .how long have you been having these dreams?"  
  
Fayze thought for a moment. "For about three years or so. . .I never really had them very often, maybe once a month or so, but lately I've been having them every other night or so." He rubbed his arm again. "Almost makes me afraid to go to sleep. . ."  
  
Three years. . .that was about the same amount of time Dyne had been having his dreams too. They had started quite differently before though. He had been in a street, being attacked by some kind of shadowy devil. He had figured that dream had only been a preminition to the next morning when he had gone to Berail with Tye and been impaled by the shadow. Not only that, but his dreams had been rare before, but now they were coming up almost every time he fell asleep. Now Dyne was sure that he and Fayze were on the same boat here.  
  
"That's pretty weird." Dyne said calmly, masking the fact that he was all too concerned about these dreams. "Your dad has the same dreams?"  
  
Fayze nodded. "Kind of, but they involve him in this alley. He says he's sitting there, when this dark figure comes up to him and his shadow comes over him. Then, the guys shadow just comes off of the ground and latches onto him, like it's trying to cover him or something."  
  
The kids dads dreams seemed even more like Dyne's than Fayze's. Dyne stood up abrutly. "I've gotta go take a leak, be right back." He then strode off, in search of the bathroom. When he found it, he went in, turned on the light and shut the door, locking it. He turned on the water to the sink, beginning to wash his face.  
  
"What am I so worked up over?" Dyne thought to himself. "They're just dreams. . .dreams can't hurt you. . .they're just images that your subconsious creates. . ." Even though he knew this, why the hell was he so upset? "I've got to pull it together. . ." Dyne splashed some water into his hair, dampening every inch. He then brushed it back with his fingers, trying to get it slicked as much as possible.  
  
"I'm too strong to let something like a little dream stir me up." Dyne told himself. He pulled a towel from the towel rod and patted his face dry. "Don't let it get to you, Dyne. . ." He sat the towel on the edge of the sink, then looked up at his own reflection, staring back at him. He let a smirk cross his lips, watching the reflection mimic him. "I can handle this."  
  
It's been a while. . .I hope it wasn't too bad. Please R & R! 


	6. The Girly Guy?

Okay, sorry for no action guys, but there will be some soon, promise. I'm sure by now you guys know who Fayze's daddy is.  
  
Dyne: Who's yo daddy?!  
  
Fayze: . . . I love my daddy.   
  
Dyne: I bet you're a wussy, right?  
  
Fayze: TT NO! I can love my daddy and still not be a wuss! (cough)  
  
Dyne: Riiiight. . .  
  
If my spelling a bit messy, I'm sorry. I'm being forced to use notepad (cringes) until I get the money together to get m works. Due to this, I don't have a spell checker. Also, I'm just too damn lazy to get out my dictionary and look up any difficult words.  
  
Dyne: You are such a broke ass bum, you know that?  
  
Burry: Oh, shut your trap, arse hole. I need some help maintaining him. . . who wants to straighten him out? Come on, have at him!  
  
Dyne: Hey now. . .don't get violent on me now. . .  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Nevia had just finished buying all of her things for dinner and was heading back down the street to the apartment. Her arms were overloaded with three large bags of vegetables, meat, noodles, and spices. It was going to be a big meal tonight.  
  
One of the bags was balanced unevenly on her right arm and she held the other two in each hand. It seemed quite rude that no one would help her out. It was another block to the apartment, and she just knew she'd be dropping something before she got there.  
  
"I'm going to break the fuckin' eggs. . ." Nevia thought to herself. She took a better grip on the bag that held numerous items, among them the eggs she was so upset about. There was a turn in the street, meaning that the apartment was quite close now.   
  
Just as she made the turn, someone came around, bumping into her. She was knocked off balance and teetered backward, the bag on her arm and in one of her hands dropping to the stone street ground. She was relieved that the egg bag hadn't dropped. Nevia looked down at the mess at her feet; packages of meat, and some fruit were strewn across the floor, and a bottle of lemon juice was shattered. She groaned with aggitation, knelling down to pick up some of the contents. She sat the bag with eggs down and began.  
  
"I'm so sorry ma'am!" the youthful male voice of the person who had bumped her apoligized. "Here, allow me to help."  
  
Nevia didn't bother to look at the man, only continued to stuff her things back into their bags. "Don't worry about it, I've got it. . ." She could see whoever it was bend down and begin picking up a few items. "I said I've got it. . ." At this point, Nevia looked up just as the person handed her a small container of pepper.  
  
It was a very slinder man, looking maybe in his early twenties. He was nicely tanned, and his hair was long, messy, and a very light blonde color, looking like he had bleached it. The man's structure made him look quite youthful. Nevia stared into his deep, sad blue eyes for a moment before beginning to speak.  
  
"Ur. . .thanks. . ." Nevia said quickly, taking the pepper and shoving it into the bag. The man smiled kindly.  
  
"Not at all miss. I'm dreadfully sorry about this. I should have been watching where I was going." The young mans voice was light and calm, making him sound very little and childish. Nevia smiled, shaking her head.  
  
"It's alright, I wasn't really paying attention either." She took up a bell pepper and put it away as well, then took a small package of beef from the man.  
  
Within a few moments, everything except the busted bottle of lemon juice was put away. Nevia stood up, adjusting her clothes. She watched the young man stand as well. He was wearing a long, purple t-shirt that only seemed to make him look thinner. For pants he wore a pair of khaki long shorts with sneakers. His attire didn't make him look much different than a school kid. He brushed some of his hair from his face and smiled at Nevia.  
  
"All finished." He said, still smiling innocently. Nevia nodded and knelled back down, beginning to pick up the bags.  
  
"Thanks." As Nevia grabbed for the last bag, the man bent down and scooped it up.  
  
"Here, allow me to help you carry these." He stood with the bag just as Nevia did.  
  
"Naw, don't worry about it." Nevia laughed. She could make it the rest of the way without any help.  
  
"But I insist. It's the least I can do to make up for my mistake. Please?"  
  
Nevia sighed and finally nodded. "I guess, just follow me to my place." The man nodded gently and followed as instructed. As they went on down the street, Nevia turned her head back to the man.  
  
"By the way, I didn't catch your name."  
  
The man smiled again. "I'm Siegren. And you?"  
  
"Nevia."  
  
The man sighed. "Nevia. . .what a beautiful name." He complemented. Nevia blushed, never getting that from anyone. She especially hadn't ever planned on getting any complements from a man. . .  
  
"T-thanks."  
  
Back at the apartment room, Fayze was reclined on the couch, his arms rested behind his head. Dyne had been in the bathroom for a good ten minutes. What the hell was he doing in there?  
  
"Maybe he fell in. Or he's jacking around. . ." Fayze thought, letting out a little chuckle. He sighed soon after, wondering why Dyne had been so concerned about his dreams.  
  
"That guy acts like he's a shrink or something. . .give me a break." Fayze rolled his tounge around in his mouth, then picked at a piece of something stuck in his teeth. When he'd bitten that guy, he must have gotten some of his arm stuck in his mouth. He was quite ashamed of it though. . .he had just instinctively latched onto the man. He felt good about it now though, at least he'd gotten back at them somewhat.   
  
"Why the hell did I bite him though? I could have just broken his arm or something. . .would have handicapped him worse. He was just a human." Fayze thought, messing with one of his canines now. He damned his cursed blood, then sighed, putting his hand back behind his head. He was beginning to get hungry now, but just sighed. "Where's that girl with the food? Hope she's alright."  
  
Just then, Fayze heard footsteps coming down the hall. He sensed two people, then watched the door. The knob turned, and in walked Nevia, followed closely by a feminine looking young man. "Who the hell?" Fayze sat up and waved to Nevia. "You're back." As the young man came in, Nevia motioned for him to shut the door behind him, and he did so.  
  
"Thanks a lot for your help." Nevia thanked as she and Seigren headed into the kitchen. "How would you like to stay for dinner?" Fayze watched them both closely, still puzzled about the young man.  
  
"That would be most wonderful, thank you, miss Nevia!"  
  
"Wonder if he's a friend." Fayze thought, laying back onto the couch. He brushed his bangs to the side, then closed his eyes. As he did, he heard a door open behind him, then shut.  
  
"'Bout time you got back." Dyne's voice said in his usual cocky tone. "By the way, Vergil went out to get some information. He told me to tell you." There was a grunt of acknowlegement and Fayze sat up again, looking at Dyne, who was heading to the kitchen. "Did you get a lot?"  
  
"Yes, Dyne. I got plenty, so shut up and go away." Nevia sighed. She wasn't in the mood for Dyne's aggitating presence. Well, she was never in the mood for it. . .he was like an annoying child. She looked over at him, seeing that he had his hair brushed back and wore his usual miscivious grin. Personally, Nevia thought his hair looked better down; made him look more serious. Nevia narrowed her eyes at him, noticing that he wasn't leaving. "Go on, unless you plan to help out."  
  
Dyne's grin widened playfully. "But of course, I would just love to assist you." Nevia groaned inwardly. She didn't think he'd actually want to help cook. She wondered if he could cook.  
  
"He'd probably burn salad, the way he is. . ." Nevia thought as Dyne came to her side. Fayze was also now coming into the kitchen and took a seat at the table.   
  
Dyne watched Nevia unload the remaining packages from their bags, then let his eyes wander around the room. He could see what looked like a messy haired blonde woman standing at one of the counters, their back turned to him, unloading a bag. Dyne leaned in toward Nevia.  
  
"Who's the chick?" Dyne whispered.  
  
"That's Seigren, and it's a dude, not a chick." Nevia explained.  
  
Dyne cocked an eyebrow and moved away from Nevia, curious about this 'Seigren'. "Hey, blondie."  
  
Seigren turned around fully, looking up at Dyne, who stood a good foot over the scrawny little man. "Me?"  
  
"Yeah." Who else could he possibly be calling 'blondie'? Nevia had silver hair, and Fayze's was the color of ashes. "Who are you?"  
  
Nevia moved forward now, before Seigren could open his mouth. "Sorry, should have introduced everyone. Dyne, Fayze, this is Seigren." She explained, pointing out Seigren. "Seigren, this is Dyne," she pointed to Dyne. "and this is Fayze." "pointed to Fayze.  
  
Seigren smiled warmly, bowing. "It's a pleasure to meet your aquaintance." He said in his soft, light voice.  
  
Dyne bit his lip, to supress the urge to laugh hysterically. He looked the guy over, conluding that he was a short, scrawny, hippy fruitcake. "There's no way this kid can be straight. . ." He thought. The way he smiled, the way he talked, everything made him look a bit. . .queer. Dyne rubbed his face, trying to straighten it enough to not look so amused.  
  
"Nice to meet you too." Just saying that almost made Dyne burst with laughter. "Excuse me, please. . ." Dyne sat over at the table across from Fayze, his back to Nevia and Seigren. He looked up at Fayze, a wide smile splitting across his face. He gave Fayze a look that asked 'what the hell"? Fayze shrugged, not quite sure what to think of all this himself.  
  
"The guy's definantly a little, odd. . ." Fayze thought, then rubbed his temples. He shrugged off his thoughts, then glanced at Dyne, who now had his head down, laughing silently. "Are you going to help Nevia with the cooking?"  
  
Dyne sprang his head up. "Oh. . .OH! That! Right, I totally forgot, what with all the excitement." He sighed out most of his amusement, then stood up to help Nevia. He stood next to her again, watching as she got out a knife and a cutting board. "Hey there, I'm ready to help you." He was trying to sound suave, just to be an ass.  
  
Nevia could see this, but sighed, trying her best not to blow up at him. "Can you actually cook?" She asked calmly.  
  
Dyne thought for a moment. "Sure. Why couldn't I?"  
  
"Have you ever actually cooked anything before?"  
  
Dyne remembered when he was sixteen. It was fathers day, and he had promised to make Dante a feast of a dinner. "Well. . .funny story really. . ."  
  
Flash back  
  
"Dyne, what are you doing?" Tye asked, just waking up at around ten. It was summer now, and he tended to sleep in more often than usual.  
  
"I'm making something to eat." Dyne explained.  
  
This was a scary thought for Tye, even more so than how horrible the world would be if Dyne ever got a drivers license. . . "What are you making?"  
  
"It's a present for dad, for fathers day. Since he's out working today, when he gets home tonight, I'll have the biggest, bestest dinner in the world made for him."  
  
"Why do I doubt that somehow?" Tye grumbled. He could see almost every ingredient in the kitchen strewn out along the counters. "And you needed to upheavel the entire kitchen to make this meal?"  
  
"I'm not quite sure what I'm going to make, but it's going to rock!" Dyne explained, digging out a large pot.  
  
Tye sighed. "Whatever, just clean up your mess when you're done. . ." With that, Tye strode down the hall, through the living room, and back upstairs to the room.  
  
Dyne started out trying to make a cake. What better to eat with dinner than a giant chocolate cake? He searched out the can of cocoa powder, which had the recipe for a chocolate cake on the back. He followed the directions almost perfectly, adding only a little extra cocoa and sugar. When he poured it into the size pan the box of cocoa instructed him to, the pan was only halfway full.  
  
"Well, that won't do. . .I guess I'll make a second batch." With that, he proceeded to whip up another thing of chocolate cake mixture, then poured it into the same bowl as before, filling the pan to the rim. "Oh yeah, one big ass ultra chocolate cake, coming up." He popped the cake into the oven, and continued onto what he was planning next.  
  
"Some steaks would be good." He got into the freezer, pulling out a package of frozen steaks. "I'll just stick them in the microwave and nuke them for a bit." He did so, then thought out what needed to be done now.  
  
"What else does dad like? I know, I'll just make some ramen." Dyne was quick to get out eight packages of ramen, then the large pot he had sat out earlier. He filled it with water, then dumped the ramen in. He sat the flavor packets out on the counter. He'd just mix chicken and beef. . .that's how Dyne liked it, so he figured Dante might too. He put the pot onto the burner and flipped on the stove, watching the blue flames blaze up. Now he needed something else.  
  
He pondered for a moment. "A salad!" He trotted to the fridge, taking out the lettuce and carrots. They seemed to be out of tomatoes, so he'd have to scratch them from the salad. The lettuce was quickly diced, and the carrots were shreaded, with the exception of one, which immediately went into Dyne's mouth. After the salad was completely mixed, he sat the large bowl of salad next to the stove and began rummaging around until he found some potatoes. "I'll make fries to go with it too."  
  
Dyne got out the oil, putting it into a pan. He turned the flame under it to high and waited for it to boil. As he waited, he could smell the cake in the oven beginning to bake. "This is going to be good."  
  
Finally, the oil was boiling, and Dyne chunked the now chopped up potato slices into the grease. This action triggered catastrophe.  
  
The oil splashed from the pan violently, falling all over the stove top and under the burner. In one quick moment, the grease caught fire, and Dyne witnessed his first ever oil fire. "WOAH!" He cried, waving at the flames to try and make them go out. The fire was small, but wouldn't seem to go out, so Dyne began to fill a glass with water from the sink. He didn't know you weren't supposed to pour water on a grease fire. As soon as the water hit the oil, the flames grew and spread out, the oil sputtering viciously from the water. Burning oil splattered everywhere, over the stove, onto the floor, into the salad that sat next to the stove. . .Now his salad was on fire. . .  
  
"SHIIIIIIIT!!!!!" Dyne yelled, trying to get to the flaming salad. The grease popped onto his arm, and he pulled back quickly. As quickly as possible, Dyne flicked off the burner under the oil, so that it wouldn't continue to boil. Unfortunately, now he still had to worry about the raging fire that was still blazing, the burning salad, and the now overboiling ramen pot. "SON OF A BITCH!!" He tried quickly to turn off the ramen as well and succeeded, but the fire had spread over to it, and was mixing with the overboiled water on the burner. Now the other half of the stove was in flames.  
  
Just to add more havoc, Dyne could smell his cake burning, and when he pulled the door open, the thing was overflowing from the pan, spilling and burning all over the inside of the oven. "FUCK!" Dyne turned off the oven too, just so nothing else would go wrong there.  
  
"Just calm down, just calm--OH SHIT!!" The flames had managed to crawl onto the wall now, and Dyne grabbed a nearby rag, smacking at the flames to try and extinguish them. The wind from the rag only made the fire spread more, and the flames continued up the wall.  
  
"What the hell?" Dyne heard Tye say groggily, obviously heading down from the room. Now Dyne was screwed; he'd get caught, then Tye'd never let him live this down. . .  
  
"FUCK!!" Dyne thought, letting out a hiss of pain as his hand fell onto some of the oil, scorching him severely. He ran over to the sink, washing his hand to try and cool it down.   
  
Now Tye's footsteps were coming down the hall. "Dyne, what's that smell?"  
  
Dyne didn't answer. He already knew he was caught, so why try to hide it? Tye emerged from the hall, and his face suddenly went pale. He yelped in surprise, then ran over to the stove, knocking the salad onto the tile floor. He dashed to the counter where the flour container was, and took the whole canister. He proceeded to douse the entire stove with flour, which made the flames in the oil die almost immediately. After that was finished, he quickly moved the pan of grease, filled a glass of water, and threw it onto the wall. He repeatedly refilled the glass and slung it onto the wall, until the flames were gone. He tossed the plastic glass into the sink, then proceeded to extinguish the still flaming salad with his foot. Dyne just stood at the sink, watching his brother in action. Just as the flaming salad was put out, the microwave dinged, indicating that the steaks were thawed.  
  
The crisis seemed over, and Tye turned his attention to Dyne, who just stood there with his hand under the running water. Dyne gave a small, nervous giggle, then fell silent as Tye glared daggers at him.  
  
"Dyne, what the heck did you do?!" Tye growled, breathing heavily.  
  
"I-er, well, um I uh. . ." Dyne stuttered. Tye put up one hand, wanting silence. He took a deep breath, then let it out, beginning to massage his temples.  
  
"Okay, let's just all calm down. . .I don't really think I want to know what happened, but. . ." Tye looked around the kitchen, seeing that it was an utter disaster zone. "We've got to get this cleaned up."  
  
Dyne shut off the water, coddling his hand. Tye noticed what had happened, and came over to him, inspecting the badly blistered wound. "Ouch, that looks bad." He took Dyne by the arm, taking him to the bathroom.  
  
Tye began taking out gauze and peroxide, tending to Dyne's hand. Dyne winced every now and then, but watched his brother calmly clean the wound.  
  
"Dyne, you've got to learn to be more careful. . ." Tye warned.  
  
"I was!" Dyne defended. "I didn't know--"  
  
"Exactly, you didn't know!" Tye interupted. "Why do you always mess with things you don't know anything about?" He purposefully rubbed Dyne's hand a little too hard, to cause him a bit of pain. "You could have burnt the house down, do you know that?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah." Dyne grumbled. "You bitch at me like you're my mother or something. . ." Dyne sighed with this, deciding that he'd said the wrong thing. Tye did the same, then began to wrap Dyne's hand with gauze wrap.  
  
"Someone's got to help you out, right?" Tye said calmly. He finished the mending, then stood up straight. "That ought to do it. It'll be better soon."  
  
"Thanks. . ." Dyne grumbled. He felt foolish for being griped out by his own brother.  
  
"Okay, this is what we'll do. You want to get dad a nice dinner, right?" Tye began.  
  
Dyne nodded. "Yeah. . ."  
  
"Well then, I'll deal with dinner, but you've got to clean up that kitchen." Tye explained.  
  
"Why me?!"  
  
Tye glared at him. "You screwed it up, so you get to clean it up! It's only fair."  
  
Dyne groaned, then nodded. "Fine. . ."  
  
The rest of the day, Dyne had to tiddy the kitchen, while Tye ordered pizza and chinese. When Dante got home that night, he didn't even notice what had been done in the kitchen, he only asked when the wall behind the stove had been scorched like that.  
  
"Been that way for some time now. You didn't know?" Tye lied for Dyne. Dante bought the story.  
  
End flashback  
  
Nevia stared at Dyne in disbelief. Her assumptions about Dyne burning salads were actually true, which she hadn't really believed was possible. How the hell could he be so accident prone? She glared at him for a moment. "That's not a funny story."  
  
Dyne grinned. "You don't think so?"  
  
"No, it just shows more evidence that you're a moron. Now get the hell out of my kitchen, before you destroy something." Nevia ordered.  
  
"Oh, come on, babe! I wanna help!" Dyne protested. Nevial began to push him from the kitchen.  
  
"I don't want your help, and don't you EVER call me babe again, or I swear to god I'll rack your sorry ass! Now get out of the kitchen!"  
  
"But--"  
  
"GO!!"  
  
Dyne finally gave in, slinking over to the couch. He plopped himself down, feeling quite unwanted. He sighed, then spead out nicely with his arms rested behind his head. "Stupid wench. . ."  
  
"I HEARD THAT, YOU LITTLE PIG!!" Nevia yelled from the other room. Dyne smirked and scoffed, then closed his eyes.  
  
Some footsteps came from the kitchen into the living room after a few more moments. Dyne looked up to see Fayze standing by the couch. "What's up?"  
  
Fayze sighed. "I don't wanna be in there right now. . ."  
  
"Why? Nevia looking pissed?"  
  
Fayzed scoffed. "Hell yeah, she's mumbling all kind of curses and death threats about you in there. The vibes she lets off are just scary. . ."  
  
"Yep, that's what happens to a girl when she's PMSing. . ." Dyne explained.  
  
"DYNE, IF YOU DON'T SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH, I SWEAR I'LL COME IN THERE AND DO IT FOR YOU!!!!" Nevia roared.  
  
Seigren backed away from Nevia a bit, feeling almost as uneased as Fayze had. "Miss Nevia, I think you should calm down. He doesn't mean any harm. . ." Seigren tried to persuade.  
  
Nevia took a very deep breath, held it for a good ten seconds, then released it. "I know. . .but god damn! He gets on my fucking nerves so badly!"  
  
Seigren cocked his head. "Aren't you guys all friends?"  
  
Nevia scoffed. "Friends? I barely know the asshole, and I can't stand every minute I have to see him! I know he gets a kick out of pissing me off too, that's the worst part of it."  
  
Seigren scratched the back of his head, looking kind of upset. "Why don't you two try to get to know each other better then? I'm sure you could be friends. . ."  
  
Nevia narrowed her eyes at Seigren. "You're kidding, right?" She asked dully.  
  
"No, I bet if you got to know each other, you'd make good friends." Seigren turned to look at Dyne, who was now sitting at the couch with Fayze, flipping through the tv channels. "I can tell that Dyne is a really good guy. . .deep down."  
  
Nevia continued to stare at Seigren in bewilderment. Who could possibly see any goodness in Dyne? When she looked at him, all she saw was his annoying, cocky little grin. Seigren didn't even know Dyne, so how could he say anything good about the guy? "How do you get that? He's a little turd."  
  
"Nah, I can see something about him. He's got to be a decent guy, I know it." Seigren continued to defend.  
  
Nevia sighed. "Whatever. I'm going to start making dinner. Why don't you go try to 'see' this goodness in Dyne that you say is supposedly there?"  
  
Seigren looked back up at her. "You don't want any help?"  
  
"Nah, I got it. Go on." Nevia pushed. Seigren nodded, heading out into living room with the other two men.  
  
Dyne and Fayze both looked over to Seigren as he walked in. "Her nagging getting on your nerves too?" Dyne asked in an amused tone.  
  
Seigren shook his head. "Not at all. She told me she didn't need any help, that's all."  
  
Dyne scooted over, to make room for the guy. "Have a seat then." Seigren obliged, sitting at one end of the couch next to Dyne. "Thank you."  
  
Dyne groaned, hitting the power off to the television. "Man, there ain't shit on. . ." He grumbled. He turned his head back some toward the kitchen, raising his voice some so that Nevia could hear him. "Boy, sure hope that food gets done soon! I'm famished!!"  
  
"Shut up, or you'll end up with arsnic in your meal, Dyne!" Nevia growled, just loud enough for Dyne to hear.  
  
Dyne laughed slightly, shaking his head. "Man, she sure can be a vicious little kitty, aye?"  
  
Seigren sighed. "I really do think you two should try to be friends." He repeated, this time to Dyne. He got basically the same reply from Dyne as from Nevia.  
  
"Be friends with her? Come on! She hates me, can't you tell?" Dyne laughed.  
  
"Only because of the way you treat her. You aren't exactly very cosiderate of her feelings. . ."  
  
Dyne stared at him for a moment. He wasn't sure if he should just state that the kid was being a queer, or if he should agree. "Yeah, yeah. . .whatever."  
  
"No, really. You should be nicer to her. I bet if you wouldn't throw on such a 'hot shot' act everytime you were around her, I'm sure she'd really enjoy your company." Seigren explained.  
  
Dyne looked over at Fayze, who was just looking at Dyne curiously. "He's got a point there, ya know. Bet you could hit it off with her if you were nice to her, for once. Heck, I've been here for only a few hours, and you two fight like a cat and dog. I bet this goes on all the time."  
  
"Shut up, the both of ya." Dyne grumbled. "What do you want me to do, go in there and apoligize to her?"  
  
"Actually," Seigren began. "That would be a good start."  
  
Dyne scoffed, crossing his arms. There was no way she'd accept an apoligy from him. Not only that, but he didn't think she deserved it.  
  
"Dyne. . ." The voice of Cerbis chirped from somewhere in his mind. "They're both right. You should say you're sorry to her." Dyne groaned with annoyance, then Fayze sat at the edge of the couch, watching Dyne hopefully.  
  
"Come on, go for it." Fayze pushed.  
  
"Yes, go on." Seigren agreed.  
  
Fayze smiled cooly. "It's not like there's anything to be embarrassed about. . ."  
  
"Dyne, listen to them." Cerbis piped again.  
  
"Would you all just shut up!" Dyne growled, feeling quite angry now. Fayze sunk back into his seat as he caught glimpse of Dyne's eyes flickering red. Seigren just watched Dyne, sort of curious of his anger.  
  
"Dyne. . ." Cerbis tried gently, as to not upset his master any further. "don't get so furrowed. It's not that hard to do."  
  
"Silence. . ." Dyne growled inwardly. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. They were all right, and he knew it, but what would saying he was sorry now help? He doubted she'd forgive him. Nevia was a rude, vulgar wench, and that's all there was to it.  
  
"Dyne, she isn't all that bad. Haven't you seen her around other people? She's an alright person, just not to you. Look how nice she was to Fayze."  
  
Dyne groaned again, then stood up. "Alright, alright. Everyone quit your bitchin'. I'm going." With that, he strode off into the kitchen. Seigren glanced over to Fayze.  
  
"You think he'll be alright?"  
  
Fayze chuckled a bit. "If he's cool about it, otherwise he might end up with a butcher knife in the chest. . ."  
  
Dyne came in, standing behind Nevia at the edge of the dining table. He could see Nevia chopping up some vegetables on the counter. "Hey." Dyne said, trying to sound as calm as possible.  
  
Nevia turned her head a little, just enough to glare at Dyne. "What? I don't need any help."  
  
Dyne shuffled his feet some, rubbing the back of his neck. Cerbis seemed to be jabbing at him, trying to get him to talk. "I uh, just wanted to tell you something. . ."  
  
Nevia stopped what she was doing, turning around fully. "Tell me what?"  
  
"Just say you're sorry." Cerbis persuaded. "Come on."  
  
"Er. . .I, uh. . ." Dyne grumbled. His voice was very low, so much that Nevia couldn't understand him. "I'm sorry."  
  
Nevia cocked her head, her hands on her hips now with impatience. "What was that? Speak up, can't hear you."  
  
"I said, I'm sorry." Dyne said, speaking louder now. Nevia narrowed her eyes at Dyne.  
  
"Sorry for what?"  
  
Dyne fumbled around in his mind, trying to figure out what he was going to say. "What do I tell her?"  
  
"Sorry for being a rude, pompus, arrogant, cretin. That should do it." Cerbis explained.  
  
Dyne mentally scoffed at this, then turned his attention back to Nevia. He could feel his ears burning. "I'm sorry for being an ass."  
  
Nevia just stared at him, astonished. Why would he say that, all the sudden? She knew Fayze and Seigren must have put him up to it. "You've got to be kidding, right?"  
  
Dyne shook his head, feeling his face glowing. "No, I'm really sorry for the way I've acted toward you." Nevia could actually sense a bit of sincerety in his voice. She smiled thinly, deciding to trust him, at least for now.  
  
"So, you won't be a dick anymore, right?" Nevia asked, hopping that this apoligy would make her life a bit easier with him around.  
  
"Yeah, guess so. . ." Dyne agreed glumily.  
  
Nevia laughed, an amused grin across her face. "Okay, I know you're just trying to get on my good side, so you better keep your word. Got it?"  
  
Dyne nodded reluctantly. Now who'd he pick on?  
  
Nevia began pushing Dyne from the kitchen. "Now, go on. Dinner's almost done."  
  
Nevia was right, because about ten minutes later, she was in the living room, announcing that everyone come eat. As everyone sat down at the table, Dyne laughed happily. There was beef stroganoff, shrimp salad, wine, and garlic bread that Nevia had obviously not cooked herself in the hour it took her to make dinner.   
  
"Okay, dig in. There's plenty of stroganoff, but we've got to save a little for Vergil." Nevia knew Vergil had quite an appetite, but that was to be expected from someone with such a high metabolism. Nevia watched Dyne take her literally, plunging immediatly into the main entree. Fayze was a bit more calm about it, but was quickly stuffing a large piece of bread into his mouth. Seigren was eating just as petitly as Nevia, taking small bites of food.  
  
Before anyone else could finish half of their first plate, Dyne was going in for seconds, piling more stroganoff onto his plate. He put that food off, devouring his salad and bread instead. Nevia watched him, not sure if she should be amused or disgusted.  
  
"You're a pig, Dyne." Nevia commented. Dyne just smiled at her, his cheeks full of bread. He looked like a giant squirrel.  
  
Finally, everyone had had their fill, except Dyne, who was forced to stop eating after his sixth plate of food. Nevia repeated that Vergil had to eat, so Dyne wasn't going to get to fill his stomach to full capacity.  
  
"A full belly makes a slow devil hunter." Fayze warned, wiping his hands on his napkin. He drank down the remainder of his wine, wiping his face afterward.  
  
"Whatever." Was all Dyne answered, gulping what he had left of his drink. He took a look over his shoulders at the clock in the living room. It was now nine. Dyne reclined back a little. "Well, I'm a bit tired." He looked over to Nevia, who was piling dishes into the sink. "Hey, where can I sleep?"  
  
Nevia looked back at him. "We've got a spare bedroom, along with the couch. Your choice." Nevia went away from the kitchen, then came back after a few minutes. She handed Dyne some clothes, also to Fayze. "You two should take a shower, you're both a mess." She looked at Fayze. "Those ought to fit you, they're mine."  
  
Still shirtless, Fayze smiled thinly, kind of embarassed that he'd be wearing a woman's clothes. Dyne was sure to point it out.  
  
"You're gonna wear girl clothes!" Dyne laughed. Nevia shot him a glare.  
  
"Their manly enough. How often do you think I run around in pink and dresses? I wear men's clothes." Nevia explained. Dyne held in a laugh at this, and Nevia turned her attention to him. "Dyne, I doubt they'll fit you well, but those are Vergil's clothes."  
  
Dyne groaned. There was no way he'd fill those clothes. He was smaller in every aspect than his uncle, that he was sure of. Maybe he could fix it with a belt or something. "Come on, they'll just fall off."  
  
"Well, it's just temperary. You're clothes look like they could use a good cleaning." She was right, because he was still wearing the clothes he'd come here in and the salt that had dried to them was beginning to aggitate Dyne's skin. He shrugged off his jacket, revealing his black undershirt and let the jacket fall to the floor.  
  
"I'll hop in the shower first. I'll just pile these clothes outside the bathroom door." Dyne said, beginning to undo the holster for his guns. Once it was off, he handed the guns over to Nevia. "Could I get you to clean these up for me, please? I don't want them jamming up or nothing from all the salt." Nevia nodded, surprised to hear him say please. Dyne turned off to the bathroom, leaving the remaining three in the kitchen.  
  
"See," Seigren began. "he can be pleasent, when he tries." He leaned forward on the table, resting his chin on his hands.  
  
"Maybe he's actually going to keep his word." Nevia grumbled. She hadn't been around Dyne enough to know if he was true to his promises or not. "He seems to be acting different than earlier. What did you two tell him?"  
  
"Nothing, really." Seigren defended. "We merely made the comment that he should be more kind toward you, that's all."  
  
Nevia sighed. "Well, thanks. I appreciate it."  
  
Seigren took a look up to the clock, seeing the time. "Oh dear, it's getting pretty late." He stood up, smoothing out his shirt. "I should be going."  
  
Nevia stopped him as he tried to leave the room. "You can stay here for the night if you like. It might be dangerous out."  
  
"Oh, but--"  
  
"She's right." Fayze agreed with Nevia. "There's a bunch of weirdo's out there. A little guy like you might get hurt."  
  
Seigren seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then finally nodded. "I suppose I could. I'd be honored."  
  
Seigren decided to take the couch as his place to sleep, leaving Dyne and Fayze to share the spareroom. After an hour and a half, Dyne and Fayze had showered, and were now getting ready to sleep.  
  
Dyne sat on the edge of his bed, bouncing up and down to test the beds springiness. He had just gotten his guns back from Nevia, and was checking them for any blemishes. He was wearing the clothes Nevia had given him and, just as he'd expected, they fit him like sheets. The dark blue, cotton t-shirt practically fell off Dyne's shoulders, and his blue jeans made him look like a rapper. Nevia had even given him boxers, which fit about the same way.   
  
Fayze was running a comb through his ashy hair, getting out any knots and tangles. He was also dressed in the clothes he'd been given, but they fit him quite well. As Nevia had said, they were mens clothes, a burnt orange, sleeveless T with a pair of dark blue, demim carpenter jeans. Once Fayze was finished with his hair, he sat the comb down, looking at himself in a small hand mirror that was at his bedside table. He examined his face and bared his teeth, inspecting his sharp canines. Dyne couldn't help but notice them again and decided to pry.  
  
"So, what kind of devil are you?" Dyne asked, finishing his gun inspection. Fayze sat the mirror back down, then sighed.  
  
"I'm a bit of a mongrel. My moms a human, and my dad's part vampire, part devil." Fayze explained plainly. "Guess that makes me half devil/vampire, half human."  
  
"Wow, that is a cur." Dyne remarked. Now that he knew what Fayze was, he wondered if the kid had a blood lust.  
  
"Well, you're not exactly a petigree yourself, Dyne." Fayze said.  
  
Dyne cocked a brow. "Meh, what do you know?"  
  
Fayze eyed Dyne, a smile played on his face. "I figured out who you are."  
  
"Oh really?" Dyne was curious to know what the kid knew about him.  
  
Fayze layed out on the bed. "Yep. I didn't realize who you were at first, but you're Dante Sparda's kid, huh?"  
  
"How do you know that?"  
  
"My father's got some close ties with the wolf clan. He knows your old man too. We heard what you and your dad did three years ago. Pretty impressive."  
  
"How's your dad know mine?" Dyne asked.  
  
"He helped him some years ago. My dad worked with the devil army at the time, but he betrayed them. Now he, my mom, my dads friend and me all hang around with some of the wolf clan. We help get rid of some of the straggling devils from the armies." Fayze explained. "We weren't available back those three years ago, or we would have come to help out."  
  
Dyne sat there for a moment, then decided to lay back in the bed, putting his guns on the floor next to the bed. He gave his bangle a glance, then let his arm rest under his head.  
  
"Hey," Fayze began again. "you've got a twin brother, huh?"  
  
Dyne smirked at the thought of Tye. He hadn't seen him for all these three years, only heard from him in letters and on the phone. "Yeah, what about him?"  
  
"Kind of amazing, really. You two aren't at all alike."  
  
"How do you know him?" Dyne asked, curious again.  
  
"I told you, we keep in touch with the clan. We came by Berail a few days after that incident to apoligize for our absence. I was just a kid then, but I remember Skail introducing me to his adopted daughters boyfriend, your brother Tye." Fayze sighed, stretching longly. "He was a pretty cool guy. Really nice. . .almost peaceful. I've seen him a few times recently too."  
  
Dyne scoffed. "Nice? Peaceful? Come on, Tye's a scrawny little fruit." Fayze seemed to laugh at this comment, causing Dyne to glare at him. "What?"  
  
Fayze shook his head. "Nothing, nothing at all." He laughed again. "I take it you haven't seen him for a while, huh?"  
  
"Nah. . ."   
  
"Well, he talks about you constantly. Says he misses you."  
  
Dyne decided to end the conversation, pointing at the lamp that sat on Fayzes bedside table. "You mind turning that off, so we can get to sleep?"  
  
"Sure." Fayze agreed, flicking off the lamp. The room suddenly became pitch dark, and Dyne heard Fayze lay back into bed. "Good night then."  
  
"g'night." Dyne sighed, closing his eyes.  
  
(Sigh) Jeez, I think that's one of the longest chapters I've ever written. Hope noone minded the flashback thingy and everything. . .well, this whole chap was kind of boring, huh?  
  
Dyne: Seigren's a wussy. . .  
  
Burry: (bonks him) would you quit with the wuss crap?!  
  
Could you review pretty please? Ya know I love um! 


	7. Chapter 7

Due to Busta's request, this chap has been put up much quicker than I planned! Hope you like it Busta!   
  
Chapter 7  
  
"Dyne. . ." A voice called through the darkness. Dyne turned around, searching for the source of the voice. He could see nothing around him, only the oblivion he was imprisoned in.  
  
"Dyne, listen to me." The voice persuaded. Dyne grit his teeth, still looking for the owner of the voice.  
  
"I know you're here. Come out!" Dyne growled. He knew exactly where he was, along with who it was that was talking to him. He knew that any minute now, the dark devil would appear and try to take him. This time, Dyne would fight back. He wouldn't give the guy the time to throw that gunk at him.  
  
The hair on the back of Dyne's neck stood on end, and he quickly spun around, facing the towering, dark figure. Having no weapons, Dyne jumped into the air, bringing his leg up at the demons chin. The demon seemed to merely slide smoothly to the side, letting Dyne's foot hit nothing but air. Still in midair, Dyne twisted his body around, going for a backhanded punch. The demon ducked down, then, as Dyne landed, he thrusted the palm of his hand into Dyne's stomach. The blow caused Dyne to stumble backward a few steps, but he quickly caught his breath, bringing a barrage of punches at the demon.  
  
"Well, someone's quite fiesty today." The demon commented, dodging and blocking each of Dyne's blows effortlessly. Dyne came in with a wild kick, but the demon only took hold of his leg with one hand. He tossed Dyne away from him, causing Dyne to land ungracefully on his back. "I don't see why you wish to struggle against me. I don't wish you any harm."  
  
Dyne sat up, then got into a crouching position. "Oh yeah? If that were so, then why do you haunt my dreams? Why make my life miserable?" Dyne growled.  
  
"Dyne, I only wish for you to join me." The demon explained.  
  
Dyne scoffed. "Join you? In what?"  
  
The demon shrugged, and Dyne thought he could see a grin spread across his darkened face. "Dyne, I wish only to give you power."  
  
Dyne jumped back a foot or so. He stood up, glaring at the demon. "What are you talking about?"  
  
The devil stared hard at Dyne. "Dyne, I know you seek strength. Strength that you don't possess. If you were to come to me, I could give you a vast amount of power, as much as you could want."  
  
Dyne shuffled backward a bit, feeling quite uneased. He continued to glare at the devil. "I don't want your power. You're a devil. . .any power you have to give is dark and twisted."  
  
The demon laughed at this. "That's quite a thing for someone with such a temper to say, Dyne. You're not exactly the most holy of people, are you?"  
  
Dyne growled, knowing how he was. He had a pretty nasty temperment, and wasn't very merciful. But in his line of work, who could be? Dyne shook his head. "I don't care what you say. . .I won't go to you, whatever you mean by that."  
  
The demon sighed, shaking his head. "I'm disappointed in you Dyne. I hoped you would understand me. I suppose I'll have to continue by force, like usual."  
  
Dyne backed up as the devil put out one arm. The dark slime shot forward at Dyne, getting onto his legs and hands. Dyne again tried to free himself, glaring maliciously at the devil. "You know I'm going to wake up soon. . ."  
  
"Yes, but what happens one day when you don't wake up?" The devil warned. "Just some food for thought."  
  
Nevia sat at the kitchen table, playing a game of solitare. She yawned and stretched longly, taking a look back into the living room. A small lamp next to the tv was on, dully illuminating the wall and clock. It was now three in the morning, and Vergil still wasn't back.  
  
"Hope he's okay." Nevia thought, putting a five of hearts onto a six of clubs.  
  
After a few more moments, Nevia perked her head up, hearing heavy footsteps coming upstairs from outside the apartment room. She quickly jumped from her chair, rushing into the living room. As she came near the door, the knob began to twist, and Vergil slowly opened the door as quietly as possible, looking around to see Nevia and someone lying on the couch. As he slid in, he shut the door silently, being hugged by Nevia.  
  
"Thank god you're okay." She sighed with relief. She pulled away from Vergil as she caught sight of blood stained on his hands. "What happened to you?"  
  
Vergil smirked. "Nothing, nothing. It's not my blood, I swear." He reassured, letting loose of Nevia and walking off toward the kitchen, Nevia following closely.  
  
"Did you find anything out?" Nevia asked as Vergil stopped at the sink. She began to dig around in the fridge, finding the leftovers from dinner.  
  
"Yep, quite a bit, acutally." Vergil replied as he began to wash his hands. "By the way, who's the little guy on the couch?"  
  
"Oh, that's a kid I bumped into earlier today when I was getting dinner supplies." Nevia explained. "His name's Seigren."  
  
Vergil nodded, then turned off the water. He picked up a rag on the counter and began drying his hands. "Where's Dyne and Fayze?"  
  
"They're alseep in the spare bedroom. Why?"  
  
Vergil groaned. "Well, I'm gonna have to wait and tell you in the morning, so they can hear. I don't want to have to repeat myself."  
  
Nevia sighed. "Alright." She threw the leftovers into the mircowave to warm them up and quickly put on a pot of coffee. "Well, take a seat. I'd imagine you're hungry."  
  
"Oh yeah, famished." Vergil laughed, sitting at the table. He got all of the cards on the table together, then leaned on one hand, sighing.  
  
Nevia soon brought him some food and coffee, groaning. "Sorry if it's not a lot. Dyne's a bit of a hog."  
  
Vergil shook his head. "It's fine." He took a few bites of food, then nodded. "Good as always."  
  
"Thanks." Nevia sat there, tapping one of her hands on the table. "I wish you'd go ahead and tell me what's going on."  
  
"Just save it 'til morning." Vergil repeated. "It isn't going anywhere, okay?"  
  
Nevia sighed, then laid her head on the table. "Sorry, I just--"  
  
There was a sudden yell from within the apartment room. Nevia knew it came from the spare bedroom where Dyne and Fayze were. Her and Vergil both sprang up, dashing to the room.  
  
As Nevia came in first, she snapped on the light, darting her eyes around the room. Dyne was sitting up on the bed, his hand to his chest. Fayze was laying on the floor, his blankets tangled around him. Vergil quickly pushed his way in, seeing the two boys as well.  
  
"What happened?!" Nevia cried. Dyne snapped his head around to her, a look of utter horror on his face. Fayze looked up at her too, his face deathly pale and with the same spooked look on it as Dyne's. Both boys were breathing heavily, sweat sticking to their faces. "What happened?" Nevia repeated, her voice loud and full of concern.  
  
Fayze struggled his way out of the blankets, then stood up weakly. He seemed to hesitate speaking. "It. . .it was that nightmare." He explained.  
  
Nevia looked puzzled. "Nightmare? What nightmare?"  
  
Vergil sighed. "That's right, you didn't hear him earlier. The kid keeps having weird dreams that he thinks are somehow connected to this place." Vergil explained.  
  
Nevia stared at Vergil for a moment, then back to Fayze. "Well, are you okay?"  
  
Fayze nodded. "Yeah, yeah. . .I'm fine. . .don't worry about it."  
  
Nevia looked over to Dyne, who was just staring emptily at her. She looked worriedly at him. "What about you?"  
  
"I. . ." Dyne began blankly. He shook his head, trying to clear it of what lingered of his dream. "I, um. . .had a bad dream. It was nothing."  
  
Nevia sighed, looking up to Vergil. "They're this worked up over a little bad dream? Come on. . ." She left the room, leaving Vergil to look at both boys.  
  
"You guys gonna be alright?" Vergil asked. Both Dyne and Fayze nodded slowly, indicating that they would be. Vergil turned. "Okay then. Try to get some rest. I've got some stuff to tell you in the morning."  
  
Dyne watched him flick out the light, then walk out completely, leaving both boys in the horribly dark room. Not wanting to be in any more complete darkness, Dyne fumbled around bis bedside table, finding his lamp. He clicked it on, looking over to the dimly illuminated Fayze. He could see the dusty haired boy staring back at him.  
  
"What?" Dyne asked, wishing that Fayze would quit watching him. He now felt angry with himself, and very aggitated.  
  
"You had a nightmare too?" Fayze asked at a whisper. Dyne merely nodded. "It wasn't like mine, was it?"  
  
"No. . ." Dyne sighed. "just a dream about my dad dying." he lied. Fayze closed his eyes and rolled onto his back. He then opened his eyes and looked over to Dyne again.  
  
"Are you sure?" Fayze asked.  
  
Dyne groaned grumpily. "Yeah. Why would I lie about a stupid dream?"  
  
Fayze sighed. "Okay, whatever. . .good night. . .again."  
  
Without another word, Dyne closed his eyes, leaving the lamp on.  
  
Vergil and Nevia trudged back into the kitchen, Nevia somewhat aggitated. "I can't believe they were screaming about a little nightmare. What a bunch of babies." Vergil didn't answer, only finished off his dinner. Nevia could see a disgruntled look on his face. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing. . ." Vergil sighed, getting up and putting his plate in the sink. "I'm going off to bed. See you in the morning." Nevia watched as Vergil silently strode from the kitchen and off to his room.  
  
"I wonder what's wrong with him?" Nevia pondered, getting up herself. She went off to her own room, quite ready for some sleep.  
  
Dyne woke up the next morning, feeling not the least bit refreshed. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, rubbing his temples. He had only half slept through the rest of the night, and still felt horribly tired. He damned that cursed dream, furrowing his brow.  
  
"Why? What does that guy want from me?" Dyne thought, just sitting at the edge of the bed. He could hear Cerbis in his mind.  
  
"I'm very sorry about your dreams Dyne. I wish I could help. . .but all I've been able to do is stand by and watch the whole thing. I'm sorry." Cerbis apoligized.  
  
"It's not your fault." Dyne grumbled mentally. He rubbed his bangle, as if to tell Cerbis not to worry about it. He stretched his arms into the air afterward, yawning.  
  
Now Fayze was beginning to stir to life, moaning groggily. Dyne looked over at him, watching the boy sit up and look over to Dyne, blinking.  
  
"Morning. . ." Fayze grumbled. Dyne could tell that he had slept about as well as he.  
  
"Yeah." Dyne said back with a slight nod. He stood up, stretching his limbs longly. Fayze slowly shuffled out of bed, cracking his neck and yawning. At the edge of each bed, the boys could see the clothes they had been wearing the day before, clean and folded nicely. Also with Fayze's pants was a denim jacket that Nevia had probably decided to lend him. On top of Dyne's clothes was some loose change he had had in his pocket. Fayze's pants had a few bills, a lighter, and what looked like a folded up picture on top of them. Dyne quickly changed back into his own clothes, Fayze just changing his pants and slipping on the jacket. "Hey, what time is it?" Dyne asked after a few minutes.  
  
Fayze looked over to his bedstand, where a small alarm clock sat beside his lamp. "Eight thirty."  
  
Dyne grunted, then began to the door. "I'm going to go see if there's any breakfast."  
  
Fayze perked up, hopping from the bed. "I'm coming along then."  
  
As the two left the room, Dyne could hear Fayze behind him, mumbling something about wishing he had a toothbrush as he brushed through his hair with the comb from the night before. Dyne borrowed it, to brush through his own hair, then gave it back to Fayze, who was quick to stick it in one of his jacket pockets. They both came out into the living room, where Nevia was sitting, reading a book.  
  
Dyne looked around, trying to find Seigren. "Hey, where's the little guy?"  
  
Nevia looked back at Dyne, setting her book down. "You just missed him. He said he needed to get going."  
  
Dyne nodded, looking toward the kitchen. "You have anything for breakfast?"  
  
"Yeah, there's cereal. Have fun." Nevia replied, going back to her book.  
  
Dyne sighed, slinking to the kitchen. He and Fayze both sat down to a bowl of corn flakes just as Vergil came to the living room. Dyne watched him for a moment, seeing that he looked a bit perplexed.  
  
"Everyone up already?" Vergil asked Nevia, rubbing the back of his neck. Nevia nodded, putting her book back down. "Well then, I guess I'll tell you what I've figured out."  
  
Nevia got up, following Vergil into the kitchen. They both sat down, and Vergil put both hands on the table, watching Dyne and Fayze.  
  
"Okay, are you two going to listen?" Vergil asked the boys. Dyne nodded, drinking his milk and Fayze swallowed what was in his mouth. They both stared at Vergil, ready to hear what he had to say.  
  
"Okay, this is how it went. . ."  
  
Flash back to the night before  
  
Vergil threw the human into one of the walls of the alley they were in, then held him there. He'd already beaten him quite a bit, and the mans face was rather bloody and swollen.  
  
"Alright, who are you working for?" Vergil growled, pressing the man tightly to the wall by the shoulder. The man winced, then growled lowly.  
  
"I'm not 'working' for anyone."  
  
"Then who are you following?" Vergil pressed him harder, causing him to groan with pain.  
  
"Our lord has no name that you're worthy of knowing." The human spat.  
  
"You better tell me something then. What are your motives? Why did your little faction attack that kid this afternoon?" Vergil got close, his face looking quite scary. "Tell me."  
  
"And if I don't? Then what?"  
  
"Then I'll be forced to decorate this entire alley with your blood." Vergil dug his fingers into his victims shoulder.  
  
"Agh. . .Alright, alright. . .I'll talk. . ."  
  
"That's a good boy. Now start talking."  
  
"Our lord's followers are known as the Griffites." the man explained. "We are to seek out the ones our lord says are 'chosen', the people he wishes to have at his side."  
  
"And what is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"There are only a few chosen warriors that our lord wants to appoint as his guards."  
  
"So he's starting an army?"  
  
"Something like that, but it's all for a good cause. . ."  
  
"Oh really?" Vergil let his grip up a little, just enough to give the man some relief. "What kind of 'good cause'?"  
  
"Our lord is going to purge this world of impurity, then reshape to his own liking. Only those who follow him will be saved. . ."  
  
Vergil scoffed at this. "Sounds like some kind of twisted religion to me."  
  
"Only a filthy infidel like you would say something like that about our lord and his work." The man laughed; a mistake. Vergil gripped the man firmly by his shoulder, throwing him into the wall behind them. He then picked him back up, punching him in the face. The man fell back to the ground, spitting some blood from his mouth. Vergil quickly picked him up once more, slinging him hard into the wall again.  
  
"Don't get cocky with me, pal. It's your life on the line here, not mine." Vergil now put one hand around the man's throat, holding him but not choking. "Now, where is this lord of yours?"  
  
The man laughed hoarsily. "You can't find him. . .he's all around us."  
  
Vergil rolled his eyes, tightening his grip around the mans neck. "Yeah right, whatever you say. I guess I can go ahead and kill you if you don't feel like telling the truth."  
  
"I'm serious!" The human gasped. "No one knows where he is exactly. He's like a god."  
  
"Yeah, or a devil." Vergil scoffed.  
  
"There's a fine line between the two, right?"  
  
Vergil tossed the man to the ground. "No, there isn't."  
  
The man coughed, trying to catch his breath. As he managed to do so, he looked up at Vergil. "A god is only a being that someone worships. A god is omnipotent, just as our lord--"  
  
"Shut up!" Vergil spat, kicking the guy in the ribs. "You think I want a twisted religious prep talk?! All I want to hear from your mouth is info, not how wonderous your religion or your 'god' is." Vergil kicked the man onto his back, then stepped onto his chest with one boot. "Do you have anything else to say?"  
  
"That's all I know. . .I swear. . .What else is there to know?" The man groaned weakly.  
  
"How about why all of these demons have been popping up everywhere? They don't seem to come into town much, but they certainly are in the surrounding area."  
  
"Our lord is gathering his servents to this area to prepare for the day he will free the world of the impure." The man explained. "How dare you call them demons."  
  
Vergil had to laugh. "Oh, come on, what do you call them? Take a look at a few of them. I just spent the entire morning in that decrepit, piece of shit prison killing sin scythe's and shadows. Don't tell me they aren't devils, cause I can tell you first hand that they are!" Vergil bent down, waiting to see what the man would say to this, but got nothing. He sighed, standing up again. "I guess that's all I'm getting out of you, right?" The man continued to be silent, so Vergil turned around, beginning to walk from the alley. "It was nice talking to you, pal."  
  
end flashover  
  
"So, that's basically what happened." Vergil concluded, looking at everyones reaction. Dyne and Fayze both seemed to be pondering to themselves, while Nevia stared at Vergil intently.  
  
"So, it's a religious faction? The 'Griffites'? What kind of name is that?" Nevia asked. Vergil nodded. The whole situation sounded sort of like Mundus. . .  
  
"Not only that, but I think Fayze is one of these 'chosen' warriors." Vergil said, looking to Fayze, who immediately snapped his head around to Vergil at the sound of his name.  
  
"But why me? I don't want anything to do with this faction and their weird ass religion." Fayze defended.  
  
"I don't think they care though." Vergil sighed.  
  
Fayze sat there for a moment, thinking. "Do you think it has anything to do with my dreams?"  
  
Vergil nodded. "Possibly. It could be that this lord of theirs is trying to call these chosen ones through a dream." Vergil looked now at Dyne, who was staring blankly into space. "Hey, Dyne."  
  
Dyne looked up at him. "Huh?"  
  
Vergil stared at him for a moment before speaking. "What do you think of all this?"  
  
Dyne was silent for a moment. He hadn't expected anything this extreme to be going on when he first accepted this mission. He figured Dante didn't either, or he wouldn't have sent him here in the first place. If Vergil was right about the dreams, that meant that the lord of these Griffites wanted him too. "Pretty bizzare. . .And to think, I came here because my old man said there were some 'weird activities'. Hell yeah, that's pretty damn weird." Dyne sat there, silent again for some time. "Maybe I should call dad, see if he wants me to stay or not."  
  
Nevia cocked a brow at this. She had thought of Dyne as the type to run into action, not caring what anyone had to tell him about it. "Why do that?"  
  
Dyne looked to her, a nervous look on his face. "I really think he should come see this too. . .Maybe he could help us out."  
  
Vergil shrugged. "Maybe so. . .He did seal Mundus away, and kept him from being reserrected. . .and again with you in Berail. . ." Vergil leaned back in his chair. "What the hell, go on, give him a ring. I wouldn't mind talking to him myself."  
  
Dyne stood up. "You guys got a phone?" He asked.  
  
Nevia shook her head. "No, but there's a store down the street with a pay phone. You could try there."  
  
Dyne nodded. "Yeah, I think I will." He walked through the living room, and just as he got to the door, he heard someone get up from the table.  
  
"Hold on, let me come with you." Fayze said, now coming up to Dyne.  
  
Dyne looked at him. "Why?"  
  
"I want to get something at the store." Fayze explained.  
  
Dyne shrugged. "Fine, come on then." He looked off to Nevia and Vergil, waving. "Be back in a bit."  
  
Nevia watched the two leave, then layed her head on the table with a sigh. "So now Dante's going to be here, huh?" When Vergil made no reply, Nevia looked up at him, seeing a frown across his face. "What's wrong?"  
  
Vergil brought a hand up to his face, pressing his fingers into his eyes gently. "Nothing. . .I just think we should keep a good eye on those two from now on." Vergil warned.  
  
Nevia watched him curiously. "Dyne and Fayze? Why?"  
  
"Well, this faction's obviously after Fayze, but I'm kind of worried about Dyne too."  
  
"You want me to go after them?" Nevia asked, getting ready to get up.  
  
"No. . .not right now. They just ran down to the store, what could possibly happen in the time it takes to make a quick phone call?"  
  
Dyne and Fayze came to the little store. On the corner of the building there was a pay phone standing between two newspaper stands and a garbage can.  
  
"Alright," Fayze began. "I'm just gonna run into the store real quick, I'll be out in a second." With that said, Fayze trotted into the small store, leaving Dyne standing by the pay phone.  
  
Dyne picked up the receiver, putting his money into the phone. He dialed the Devil May Cry's number, then waited for an answer. After a few tones, Dante's voice came onto the line.  
  
"Devil May Cry. We're obviously not available at the moment. If you've got something important, just leave a message with your number or address after the beep and I'll try to get back to you."  
  
"Great, he's not in." Dyne thought glumly as the beep sounded. "Hey dad, it's Dyne. Look, some really weird shit's going on over here, so I was hoping you could get here A.S.A.P. Can't call me, my cells busted, but you know where I'm at, so--"  
  
Just then, Dyne felt a sudden pain spread through his head, and with a loud cry of pain and surprise, he hit the ground, holding the back of his head.  
  
"Get him! Don't let him get away!" Someone ordered above Dyne. As he began to stand up, he could see at least three men near him, one holding a bent piece of pipe.  
  
"You son of a--" Dyne was cut off as someone jumped onto his back, latching their arms around his chest. "Get off me!" Dyne growled, throwing the guy from his back and into one of the newspaper stands. Dyne spun around, counting nine men, including the one he'd just thrown into the paper stands. Two of them had knives, while four had pipes. The rest were unarmed.  
  
"This is the one Reese told us about! Watch him, he's dangerous!" One of the men, a middle aged guy with dirty looking brown hair warned. Dyne punched one of the closer men in the face.  
  
"Yeah, I'll show you dangerous!" Dyne growled, lunging at the one who had given the warning. As he swung at the man, he felt one of the guys with a pipe strike him across the back. Dyne managed to punch the one he had been after, then whirled around to grab the one who had struck him. Dyne latched his hand around his throat, throwing him into the trash can.  
  
Now, two of the guys tried to tackle Dyne. They were somewhat bigger than him, but he shrugged one off, knocking him into the street. The other tried to get an arm around Dyne's neck, and succeeded, anchoring himself firmly. Dyne threw his back into the wall of the store, trying to make the man release him. Two more were now coming at Dyne, and as they got close, Dyne backed into the wall, the one man still clinging onto him. He pushed his feet off the ground, kicking both men away. Gasping for air, Dyne struggled frantically to shake off the guy on his back.  
  
Now one of the other guys with a pipe came at Dyne. As the guy swung, Dyne spun around, letting the blow hit the man on his back. This seemed to do the trick, and with a loud cry of pain, the man released Dyne, crumpling to the ground. Dyne tried to catch his breath, but now there were two more men coming at him, one with a knife. Dyne charged at the first guy, head butting him to the ground. The one with the knife took his chances and ran into Dyne while he was just beginning to stand from his head butt. Dyne groaned out in pain as he felt the large knife plunge into his chest.  
  
"You bastard!!" Dyne roared, backhanding the man in the side of the face. There was a loud snap as his hand hit the guy, and the man smacked hard into the stone ground, not moving. Breathing heavily, Dyne pulled the knife from his chest and looked around to see six of the nine men still standing, some who had already tried to tackle him. They all seemed to be backing away, hesitating. Dyne could understand why; his eyes were glaring red, and he was beginning to activate his devil trigger.   
  
"Come on Cerbis!!" Dyne put out his right arm and his bangle quickly began to morph shape, wrapping around his arm and warping into his gauntlet. A fresh, powerful wave of energy flowed through Dyne, both from the gauntlet and the devil trigger he was quickly activating. He left the spikes and blade of his gauntlet down.   
  
"I'm going to kill every one of you sons of bitches!!" Dyne roared, lunging forward as he engaged his trigger. He immediately plowed into two of the men, clotheslining one and punching the other in the abdomen with Cerbis. He then grabbed one of the guys by the face, hurling him into the wall of the store head first. Dyne knew he wouldn't be getting up from that, so now there were only four men left, one of them he had just hit was back in action.  
  
"Get reinforcements!!" One of the men yelled to another. Dyne snapped around to them, seeing one of the guys running away.  
  
"You aren't getting away that easily, asshole!" Dyne growled, making a dash for the man escaping. He was stopped as he felt another guy smash a pipe on his head. He turned on his attacker, uppercutting him in the chin. The man came off the ground, then landed hard on his upper back and head. As Dyne finished with that one, he felt a jolt of pain in the back of his right shoulder. Instinctively, he spun, swiping his assaulant with the side of Cerbis. The pain was still in Dyne's back, and he could feel something stuck into it. He reached back, pulling out a knife. He blindly threw it at the one remaining man, but missed by only a few centimeters.  
  
Dyne was so pissed, he watched the remaining man for a moment. There was a look of utter terror across the guys face, which made Dyne smirk wickedly. "You picked the wrong guy to fuck with, pal." Dyne growled. He slowly stepped toward the man, who in turn stumbled back a step. "I'm gonna make your death as slow and painful as possible, you sorry sack of sh--"  
  
There was a loud blast, and Dyne felt his body jolt to the side, as if he'd just been hit by a car. A horrible pain tore through his left side, shoulder and chest and he suddenly untriggered for some reason, probably from the shock. He roared in agony, and hit the ground, landing on his back. "Oh, god. . ." Dyne thought dully. "I think I just got shot." Dyne had been slashed, stabbed, impaled, and bitten, but he'd never been shot with a gun before.  
  
"Jeez, you guys can't even capture one weak little guy. Damned disorganized bunch of saps. I've got to get a proper faction going here, this is rediculous!" Dyne heard a gruff voice say from his side. Dyne weakly stood up, stumbling some as he looked out to where the voice had come from. Standing about twenty feet away, Dyne could see a large, muscular man with short, spiky, dirty blonde hair. In his hand was a sawed off shotgun.  
  
"You fuckin'. . ." Dyne growled hoarsely, standing as well as he could. He felt someone suddenly plow into him, throwing him to the ground. Dyne's vision was becoming blurry and dull, and as he tried to get back up, he felt a large hand wrap around his neck, holding him against a wall.  
  
"Heh, you ain't so tough, are you kid?" Dyne could see the dirty blonde haired mans face right in his own quite clearly, despite his vision failure. The man was staring at him with vivid blue eyes, a smirk across his face. He didn't have the feel of a devil, but his strength was far superior to any normal human. Dyne could see a small, golden armlet around each of his arms. "Can't be killin' the chosen ones. You're goin' to be okay though, right kid?"  
  
Dyne groaned as the mans grip tightened around his throat. "Then what the hell are you doing?" Dyne managed hoarsely.  
  
"I ain't gonna kill you, just hold ya here until you black out, that's all." the man explained.  
  
Fayze rushed from the store, having heard the shotgun blast from earlier. He had a cigarette hanging from his mouth, and was just stuffing the pack into his jacket as he caught sight of Dyne, held up in the air by the blonde haired man only ten feet away. The man didn't seem to notice Fayze, so Fayze quickly went into action, springing from the ground and through the air. He went over the mans head, slamming his foot into the side of the guys head as he sailed by. The man stumbled to the side, releasing Dyne as he did.  
  
Dyne fell to his knees, coughing for breath. Fayze landed on the ground, but took little time to spin around, retreive the small red gem from his pocket, and dash toward the well built blonde man. "Sutekki!" Fayze yelled, and the gem changed into a long, crimson colored rod with the gem on one end. He held close to one end, stabbing forward with the pole like a sword. The man quickly moved to the side, narrowly missing having the stick jabbed into his stomach. He tried to come around to Fayze's side, but Fayze spun the pole around in a circle, slamming the rod into the guys side. Just as the man began to regain some of his balance, Fayze wacked him in the head with a strong rod spin, toppling the guy. The man fumbled his shotgun and just layed on the ground, groaning.  
  
Dyne felt someone touch his wounded shoulder, and lashed out at them, barely making out Fayze's figure. "Calm down, Dyne! It's me!" Fayze yelped, moving back as Dyne tried to attack him. Dyne sat back, leaning his body against the wall of the building. Fayze eyed the many holes in Dyne's left side. "Oh, god! You're shot! Hang on!" Fayze brought his hand close to Dyne's arm and side, closing his eyes. "This may hurt a bit. . ."  
  
Fayze seemed to be concentrating on something, and Dyne felt a shot of dull pain in his side, shoulder, and chest. He could feel the pellets from the shot moving around, as if being pulled out. He felt the bb's quickly slide from each hole they had entered from, and gather around Fayze's open palm. There were maybe fifty small pellets in all, and Fayze opened his eyes, causing the balls of shot to plop heavily to the ground.  
  
Dyne sighed, feeling his wound beginning to heal rapidly. "How did you do that?"  
  
"I've got a few telekinetic powers. . .I can move objects. It's pretty helpful in these kinds of situations. . ." Fayze explained quickly. "How you feeling?"  
  
"Like total shit." Dyne honestly told. His vision was recovering now, and he could see the blonde man coming toward Fayze now. "Watch out!"  
  
Before Fayze could turn fully, the man grabbed him by the head, quickly thrusting him into the wall. He knelled some and pulled Dyne up in his other hand, pressing him to the wall again as well.  
  
"Well, now I see what my lord wants you boys for." The man said with a laugh. "You're not half bad for a couple of rotten little brats." Dyne grabbed at the man, trying to get himself free, Fayze doing the same. However, this guy was strong, too strong for either of them to budge.  
  
"How is he doing this? He's just a human!" Dyne asked himself. He continued to struggle, until he heard a gun click closeby.  
  
"Drop the kids, Reese." the calm, stern voice of Vergil said. Dyne looked to see Vergil, standing with what appeared to be their assaulants own shotgun. The man, apparently Reese, closed his eyes and smirked.  
  
"Well, well. . .if it isn't Vergil. What are you gonna do, shot me?"  
  
"If it comes to that." Vergil replied smoothly. "Now, unhand my nephew and his friend. I really wouldn't want to spray your brains across the street with two kids watching. I don't know if they've ever seen a human be killed before."  
  
Reese sighed, releasing his grip from both boys heads. Vergil motioned for them to come behind him, which they immediately did. Reese bravely turned to Vergil, now having the shotgun pointed directly in his face.  
  
"That's what I thought." Vergil said, taking a step back from Reese. "What made you change your mind, huh? I thought you were on our side."  
  
"Things change, right?" Reese replied calmly. "By the way, I'll be getting those boys soon, one way or another. Just wait and see."  
  
"Not on my watch." Vergil began to slowly back away now, telling the two younger men to do the same. "I guess we'll be seeing each other again, right?"  
  
"Most likely. . ." Reese began to step down now. "If my lord wants them, he'll have them, I promise."  
  
"Well," Dyne butted in. "If you and your goons think you're ever going to catch us, you better get more organized than that. It was pathetic."  
  
Reese chuckled, then shook his head. "Ain't anyone organizing the Griffites. I'm thinkin' about doing it myself though. Thanks for the concern, kid."  
  
Vergil kept backing away. "Come on, boys. We're out of here." He turned, making the boys run back toward the apartment.  
  
Reese stood out in the street, clenching his fists. "You're quite a bastard, Vergil. . .No wonder. . ." Reese trailed off, turning and leaving. He needed to rally another batch of men to try and get them again later. . .That would take some time.  
  
Vergil pushed the two boys into the apartment, slamming the door behind him. He glared at the two. Dyne looked quite a wreck, the whole left side of his jacket shredded and stained with blood. There were two large stab holes stained with blood on the right side of his chest and back, where he'd been stabbed with the knives. His hair was fluffed out, and his eyes seemed dull unlike their usual wild icyness. Blood was dried to his face as well. Fayze looked just fine, his unlit cigerette still stuck in his mouth.  
  
"Why'd you come after us?" Dyne asked quietly.  
  
"You two were gone for too long. I came to check on you." Vergil explained. "Good thing I did too."  
  
"Thank you. . ." Fayze said, converting his staff to its jewel form and pocketing it.  
  
"Yeah. . ." Dyne groaned.   
  
Just then, Nevia came from her room. As she came into the living room and caught sight of the battered Dyne, she let out a cry of surprise. "Oh, god! What happened to you!?" She quickly dashed to him, looking him over thoroughly. "Are you okay?"  
  
Dyne cocked an eyebrow to her. Why did she seemed so concerned? "Yeah, I'm fine. . .Everything's healed."  
  
"Thank god." Nevia sighed. "What happened?"  
  
"We were attacked by some of those Griffites." Fayze explained. "I came out of the store and they were going after Dyne."  
  
Dyne growled as Nevia stared over to him. "They're after you too?!"  
  
"Nah, I don't think so. I think they saw me with Fayze and wanted to try and get rid of me so they could get to him." Dyne falsely explained.  
  
"Liar." Vergil shot. Dyne glared at him. "You know damn well they wanted you, don't lie. Reese said that he'd get you both."  
  
Nevia's eyes widened. "Reese?! That big guy we met when we got here?"  
  
"Yeah, same guy. He's the one I saw attacking the kids." Vergil told.  
  
"Wait," Dyne began. "Just who was that guy anyways?"  
  
Vergil sighed. "His name's Reese. When we first got here last week, he was the first guy we talked to. He's the one that told us that something was going on here. We talked for the day, then he said he'd try to get some information for us. We hadn't heard from him since, that is, until just a minute ago."  
  
"I thought he wanted to stop whatever was going on. What happened?" Nevia asked, sounding concerned.  
  
Vergil shrugged. "My only guess is that he either changed his mind, or is being forced to work with them."  
  
Dyne glanced over to Fayze, who was staring at him. He quickly looked up to Vergil, who turned his attention to Dyne and Fayze.  
  
"Look, it's obviously dangerous for you two to be going out by yourselves anymore." Vergil began. "I don't want either of you leaving, unless me or Nevia's with you. You got that?"  
  
Both boys nodded, then Dyne glanced over to Nevia. She was watching Dyne intently. "Nev, you get Dyne cleaned up, okay?" Vergil ordered.  
  
Nevia nodded, stepping toward Dyne. She took him by the shoulder and led him down to the bathroom. After they entered, she gathered up a towel and rag, and filled the sink with water.  
  
"Okay, get your jacket and shirt off." Nevia commanded. Dyne slowly shrugged off his jacket, revealing his now tattered, black t-shirt. He pulled that off too, throwing everything to the floor near the toilet. Nevia dipped the rag into the water and started rubbing some of the sticky blood off of him.  
  
"At least everything seems healed up." Nevia said, dabbing around Dyne's back. She could see a large bruise beginning to form on his lower back, somewhere around the kidney. "Damn, what'd they get you with? A bat?"  
  
"Actually, a steel pipe." Dyne corrected. He groaned with a little pain as she ran her fingers across the bruise. "Careful there, it's sensitive."  
  
"Sorry." Nevia apoligized, turning her attention to his chest. She was wiping some of the blood from his side when he started giggling. "What?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, it just tickles, that's all." Dyne assured with a grin. He watched Nevia intently, but she soon caught his gaze.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing. . .just watching you, I guess."  
  
Nevia gave him a funny look, then grabbed the towel, drying what she had just cleaned. She picked up the rag again, and began to look him over. "Hold on, you've got some on your face." She rubbed the rag on the side of his lip, which for some reason made Dyne feel uncomfortable. "Are you sure you're alright?"  
  
"Y-yeah, I'm fine."  
  
As Nevia began to scrub at some dried blood around his hairline, she sighed. "So, you're one of these chosen too, right?"  
  
Dyne let out a moan as Nevia touched a whelp on his head from where he'd been hit with a pipe. "Apparently. . .not that I'm too thrilled."  
  
"I'm sorry. . ."  
  
Dyne groaned again as she touched the bump on his head. "Don't get yourself too worried about it." She touched it again. "Would you leave that alone?"  
  
"I'm just cleaning the blood off. I wouldn't be surprised if you've got a concussion from this thing. Let me see your eyes."  
  
"My eyes? Why?"  
  
Nevia grabbed Dyne's chin, steering his head around to where she could look into his eyes. He watched her himself, staring back at her eyes. He had never looked at her eyes from this close before; they were a beautiful, vibrant, plum color and seemed to hold a serious, yet kindred feel to them. It made Dyne feel at ease somehow.  
  
"You have pretty eyes, Nev." Dyne complimented, mostly in just a quick blurt.   
  
Nevia blushed, then went on to check to make sure his pupils dilated properly. Once finished, she smiled, still staring at his face. "Well, no concussion. Thanks though." She put her hands onto both of his cheeks, staring at him. "I'm not going to have to do this again for you, right?"  
  
"Nah." Dyne said oddly with his cheeks pressed. Nevia grinned, giving him a quick peck on the forehead. She released him from her grip, then sighed.  
  
"Well, guess you need a new shirt. Let me get you one." As Nevia left, Dyne rubbed the spot on his forehead where Nevia had kissed him.  
  
"Did she really just kiss me?" Dyne asked himself with surprise. "What the hell?" It was odd. . .since he'd decided to be nice to her, she didn't seem to despise him so much. Hell, if he didn't know any better, he'd say she actually liked his company.  
  
"See?" Cerbis piped. "If you're kind to people, they will treat you the same in return."  
  
"Not in a lot of cases. I learned that in school." Dyne objected.  
  
"That's bratty, spoiled children. This is adult life."  
  
"It's no different. Only a few people will treat you nice if you're nice to them. The rest of them treat you like dirt."  
  
"Alright, I suppose. . ."  
  
Just then, Nevia reentered the bathroom, two shirts in her arms. She handed them to Dyne, and he unfolded the first shirt, seeing that it wasn't Vergil's. "I tried to find something of mine that could fit you. You aren't that much bigger than Fayze, so. . ."  
  
Dyne examined the shirt, just to make sure it wasn't girly. It was just a plain, deep red, cotton t-shirt. The other shirt was a black, long sleeved button up shirt that reminded Dyne of a school uniform shirt. He quickly put both on, then stood in front of Nevia. "I look alright?"  
  
Nevia settled her attention around the top of Dyne's head. "You need to brush your hair." She grabbed a brush off the sink counter, beginning to brush his hair out.  
  
"Hey, I can get that, don't worry." Dyne assured, taking the brush from Nevia. It wasn't that he didn't mind someone brushing his hair, it was the fact that Nevia had apparently forgotten that he had a huge, painful whelp on his head. He stroked the brush through his hair, being very gentle around his sore bump. Nevia sighed and shook her head, so Dyne stopped brushing his hair back, looking up at her. "What is it?"  
  
"Give me that thing." Nevia demanded, plucking the brush from his hands. "Your hair looks better left down, do you know that?"  
  
"But I like it up. It keeps it out of my face." Dyne protested.  
  
"Well," Nevia was now gently brushing his hair down, into its natural state. "You look much more handsome like this."  
  
Dyne cocked an eyebrow at her. "Really?"  
  
"Yeah." Dyne smiled thinly at this, remembering when he and Nevia had fought in Berail. She had said that she really didn't want to kill him at the time, also that he was good looking. She had even called him hun. . .He wondered if she remembered that. No one had ever called him hun before. . . Nevia could see that something was on his mind, and stared at him. "What're you thinking about?"  
  
"Do you remember when we met?" Dyne began. The question seemed to come out of nowhere for Nevia.  
  
She thought for a moment. "Well, yeah, of course. You were killing my pet crows, and I was working under my master, Tethis. He wanted me to kill you, but. . ."  
  
"But you didn't want to, right?" Dyne continued.  
  
"Right. I thought you were kind of cute. . .But I really didn't feel very comfortable around you." She laughed softly. "Plus, you were kind of an ass. I mean, you killed my birds, called me names. That didn't help you win any browie points with me."  
  
"So, you think I'm cute? Really?" Dyne asked curiously.  
  
Nevia looked a bit perplexed. "I don't know. . .I was a just a kid like you then, still pretty immature too."  
  
"Yeah, I know how that goes. I'm still immature." Dyne laughed.  
  
"No shit." Nevia agreed with a grin. "I bet you've never had a girlfriend, have you?"  
  
Dyne squirmed at the question. Sure, he always wanted girls, always wanted to get a girlfriend. . .He shook his head. "Nope, never have."  
  
Nevia was shocked by his sincerity. "Really? How come?"  
  
"I never knew many girls outside of my school. Everyone in that place hated me, because I was a freak." Dyne explained dully.  
  
"A freak?"  
  
"Yeah, they called me a freak because my scratches and scraps would heal up so quickly when they'd hit me. That was when I was just a little kid. Then, when I was older, I started fighting back. Once I hit puberty, I was just a little hellion. No one at school ever came near me, because they thought I'd attack them. They'd all seen me fight before." Dyne frowned with anger, not wanting to remember much about his school years. "But that's none of your business. . ."  
  
Nevia nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Maybe another time then. . ." She rubbed the back of her head. "So, what did you think of me when we met?"  
  
Dyne chuckled. "I thought you were a stuck up, evil, devil. Your face was just so caniving and wicked then, but now it's softened a bit. I thought it was so odd how all those birds followed you everywhere."  
  
Nevia shrugged. "It's always been like that. Birds, expecially crows and ravens, seem to like being around me. I couldn't tell you why though."  
  
Dyne frowned. "Where are all the birds now?"  
  
"Well, I made some of them leave, but quite a few are still around the town. They can't come into the apartment with me, that's for sure." She certainly didn't want to have to clean up bird droppings all the time, and didn't want to have to try and explain it to the land lord either. Dyne scratched the back of his head.  
  
"I think we should get out of here." Dyne said finally. "Someone's gonna think bad about us."  
  
Nevia nodded, opening the bathroom door. "After you." Dyne went first, then Nevia, shutting the door. Nevia was still worried about Dyne, now that he was suspected to be a target to their enemy. "So Dyne, what do you want to do now that these guys are after you?"  
  
"Honestly?" Dyne asked, getting a nod for an answer. "I want to go home." 


	8. Chapter 8

Sigh. . .I'm beginning to think that the only one reading this is Busta. . .(sniffles) Is it really that bad? ;; Oh well, I'm just glad someone's enjoying it.  
  
Chapter 8   
  
Vergil and Fayze stared at Dyne and Nevia as they came down the hall from the bathroom, as if they had done something wrong. Nevia smiled nervously, then shrugged. "What?"  
  
"Nothing." Fayze said. "We're just amazed that you two seem to be getting along so well all the sudden."  
  
"Well," Nevia began, glancing over to Dyne, who had both arms rested behind his head. "We've sort of. . .settled our differences."  
  
"That's good to hear." Vergil stated, somewhat relieved. He had a small slip of paper crunched up in his hand, and held it up. "Read this." Nevia took the piece of paper and began to read what was written on it, Dyne reading over her shoulder.  
  
'Come to the hill near Delvin Street at noon. If you do not, a tragic event shall happen before this days end.' The note read. Nevia handed it back to Vergil, frowning.  
  
"What does it mean?" Nevia wondered aloud. Dyne wasn't sure what it meant either, so he just stood quitely.  
  
Vergil shrugged. "The two of us were sitting in the kitchen and heard someone slide this under the door. Didn't catch whoever put it there though." he explained.  
  
"Who's it for? Me and Fayze?" Dyne asked.  
  
"Probably so." Fayze agreed. He looked up at Vergil. "What do you think? Should we go?"  
  
Vergil sighed, then walked around to the couch, plopping down. He crumpled the note into a ball and chunked it down on the coffee table. "You two can't go alone. It's obviously a Griffite trap."  
  
"But it said a tragedy would happen if we didn't go!" Fayze yelled. "What if they try to do something horrible?"  
  
"What could they possibly do?" Vergil spat. "Come on, kid, think about it. Only a fool would go!"  
  
Fayze glared at him. "Fine then." He began to trudge toward the door angrily. "I suppose I'm a fool."  
  
Vergil shot up as Fayze reached the door. He stood in front of him like a human wall. "You're not going anywhere, not alone at least."  
  
Dyne came up toward Fayze now. "Then I'll go with him." He said. "I'm a bit curious of what they want."  
  
Vergil glared at them both with frustration in his eyes. "Neither of you are going anywhere without me or Nevia with you, and neither of us plan to--"  
  
"I'll go with them." Nevia interupted, walking up to the group now. Vergil shot his glance to her now.  
  
"Nev! What are you thinking?! You know damn well this is a trap!"  
  
"So? I'm tired of standing around doing nothing. Besides, what if they really do something bad? I don't want to feel guilty just because I didn't do what they wanted."  
  
"But that's just it! You're doing what they want; falling into their trap!" Vergil warned.  
  
Nevia looked over to Fayze and Dyne. "You boys want to get going? We've got two hours until noon, so we could head out now, just to be early."  
  
Both men nodded quickly. "Sure, why not?" said Dyne with a smirk. "I'll get my guns."  
  
"And I'm going to the bathroom first!" Fayze laughed, as he and Dyne both left the room. Vergil leered angrily at Nevia, who just stood there with her arms crossed across her chest, a smirk on her face.  
  
"Have you gone mad?! You're just going to put yourself in danger!" Vergil growled.  
  
Nevia sighed. "Since when did you become such a worry wart? What's been wrong with you lately, Vergil? You've been acting strangily."  
  
Vergil was silent for some time before shrugging. "I've been nervous for the past few days. Can't sleep very well either."  
  
"Well, calm down. You're going to give yourself ulcers." Nevia warned. "We're going to be fine, you'll see. And when we get back, I'll make broiled steak with a salad and mashed potatoes."  
  
Vergil was a sap for Nevia's cooking no matter what it was she was cooking, and both she and Vergil were quite aware of this. He smiled thinly, then sighed. "Alright. Have things your way. . .but remember, I told you so."  
  
"That's more like it." Nevia smiled, hugging Vergil playfully. "You're the greatest, Verg!"  
  
Vergil rolled his eyes. "Please, stop acting like such a child."  
  
Nevia giggled, then let Vergil go. She turned to the direction of the spare bedroom and bathroom. "You two ready?! Come on!" She hollered. Dyne came trotting down the hall, and Nevia could hear the toilet flushing as Fayze came running from the bathroom.  
  
"Let's do this!" Dyne laughed with a smirk, seeing Fayze still fumbling with his belt.  
  
Later, the three were headed down the same street Dyne, Vergil, and Nevia had been on when they had come from the old prison. This was Delvin Street, and Dyne could see the hill he and Vergil had crossed when they had found Fayze.  
  
"That must be where they want us to go." Nevia said. Dyne and Fayze both nodded, and the three all headed up to the hill.  
  
Once they were there, Nevia looked around, seeing if anyone was there. "No one's here yet."  
  
"Well, of course not." Dyne assured. "We're only here what, an hour and fourty five minutes until twelve? I doubt they were planning on sitting around up here."  
  
Fayze sighed and sat down, pulling out his pack of smokes. He took one out and popped it into his mouth. Nevia and Dyne both watched him light it up.  
  
"Aren't you a bit. . .young to be smoking?" Nevia asked as he blew some smoke away. Fayze just sat there for a moment, then shrugged.  
  
"How old do I look to you?" Fayze asked softly, taking another drag.  
  
"I'd say sixteen." Nevia guessed.  
  
"I'm guessing fifteen." said Dyne.  
  
Fayze pointed to Nevia. "Yep, you're right; sixteen."  
  
"And already looking to get cancer." Dyne grumbled with a laugh.  
  
Fayze laughed too. "Oh, come on! Cigerettes really don't bother devils. Our bodies can heal that stuff too."  
  
"Are you sure?" Nevia asked with concern.  
  
Fayze shrugged. "My dad said so. Besides, I'm nervous about this whole meeting thing. That's the only reason I'm smoking right now."  
  
"Oh yeah? I saw you with that cig hanging out of your mouth earlier as you came out of the store when we were getting attacked." Dyne remembered. "You didn't have any reason to be nervous then, at least not until you got into the fight with us."  
  
"Okay, okay. . .so I smoke." Fayze admitted. "Don't make a big deal out of it, jeez. . ."  
  
Nothing more was said about Fayze's smoking habit, except when Nevia asked for him to keep the smoke away from her. Only twenty minutes had passed, and Dyne was getting rather bored of waiting.  
  
"We should have come around eleven thrity." He growled, making a tiny trench in the dirt with his boot heel. Fayze sighed, also feeling the effects of boredom setting in. Nevia didn't seem to mind too much, but she was also getting somewhat tired of waiting.  
  
"Let's think of something to do to pass the time." Nevia suggested. "Anyone have any ideas?"  
  
"I know," Dyne began. "Either of you play video games?"  
  
"No." Nevia told. "I never have the time. . ."  
  
"Oh yeah!" Fayze said brightly. "I love games."  
  
"Really? What do you play then?" Dyne asked curiously.  
  
"Mostly RPG's and some fighting games. That's where I learned some of my moves from."  
  
Nevia cocked an eyebrow at him. "Wait a minute. Don't tell me you learned to fight by playing video games."  
  
"Well, not totally." Fayze admitted. "I use so many different weapons and techniques it's a pain. My dad taught me sword fighting and how to fight with a scythe. His friend taught me hand to hand, other sword techniques, and how to fight with a whip. The rest of my skills were self taught or learned by carefully mimicing characters from games."  
  
Dyne laughed. "This I'd have to see. Give me an example of a game taught fighting skill. Come on." He provoked.  
  
Fayze stood up and took out his gem. "Okay, have you ever played Soul Caliber?" Dyne nodded, having played the game at arcades quite a bit. Fayze said a word in japanese, and the little orb turned into a rod again. Dyne immediately knew who he was going to mimic.  
  
"Oh god, don't tell me you're gonna mock Kilik." Fayze only nodded and began twirling the rod around in his fingers, then held it vertically, twirling from one side of his body to the other. He moved quick swiftly, with almost the exact skill as Kilik.  
  
"That's amazing, for being learned on a game." Nevia admitted.  
  
"I taught myself some of my own moves too though." Fayze said as he made the staff revert to the gem.  
  
Dyne was simply astonished. "Do another, do another!"  
  
Fayze spent the next fourty minutes or so, getting Dyne to guess who he was copying. Dyne figured out each one with ease, having played numerous games in his life. He watched now as Fayze swung his sword around.  
  
"Link. Has to be." Dyne answered. Fayze nodded, putting the sword away.  
  
"You're good at this." Fayze complemented.  
  
"I'd better be. Been an avid player since I was five." Dyne boasted. Nevia was tiring from watching Fayze, and sighed.  
  
"That's nice Dyne, really. . .What a way to spend your childhood. . ." Nevia said glumly. Dyne frowned at her.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing, just getting bored like you guys."  
  
Dyne, who was standing now, teetered back and forth on his heels. "Hey Nev, what did you do for fun when you were little?"  
  
Nevia looked up at him, a look of wonder on her face. "Well, I. . ." She thought for a moment, trying to remember. "I don't really remember. . .I can't recall much of my childhood."  
  
"You've got to remember something, right?" Fayze said with a shrug. "What do you remember?"  
  
Nevia sighed. "I doubt you two want to hear. It's a bit depressing. . ."  
  
"Come on!" Fayze pushed. "Let's have a story time! Everyone can talk about their past. Nevia first though." Dyne sat down, squirming some. He didn't really want to talk about that stuff. . .  
  
Nevia rubbed her arm. "Well, I remember my uncle taking care of me. He was a happy man, my dads half brother. Despite being a human, he was pretty strong. He had to be, growing up with my dad. My old man was half devil, just like Dyne's dad."  
  
"How was your dad?" Fayze asked.  
  
"I didn't know him, my uncle just told me about him. He said he was a tall, strong man who enjoyed fighting. He told me that he had died when I was very young, and so I had to stay with him." Nevia explained.  
  
"What about your mom? What happened to her?"  
  
"She died giving birth to me, from what I'm told. She was a human. . ."  
  
Dyne and Fayze both frowned. "Sorry to hear that." Dyne apoligized.  
  
Nevia shook her head. "Nah, don't worry about it. I'm not too sad, since I never really knew them."  
  
"So, how was it growing up?" Fayze tried to get her to continue.  
  
"Well, my uncle raised me like a boy, so I was a tomboy. . .still am too. I was home schooled until I was about fourteen. . .then our house caught fire. My uncle got trapped, and only I made it out alive." Both men looked saddened, but Nevia smiled softly. "Don't worry about it, guys. That was eight years ago, I'm over it. . ."  
  
"Did you have to stay at a orphanage?" Fayze continued.  
  
"No, we lived out in the middle of nowhere, so no one even knew that we were there. I tried to stay in the forest around our home, living off what animals I could capture and berries. . .I was okay for a while. . .at least until winter came."  
  
"What happened?" Fayze seemed to be getting into the story, listening intently.  
  
"The food was suddenly gone when winter came, and I was forced to go hungry. Finally, I layed out in the snow, waiting to die. . .when all the sudden this crow came flying up with a large piece of meat in its feet. It almost seemed like it was giving it to me, so I took it and ate it. That's when I learned that birds would do what I told them. Because of them, I made it through that winter."  
  
Dyne decided to ask a question too. "How did you end up with the devil army then if you were living in a forest?"  
  
"I'm getting there, hold on. Okay, so as I was saying, after that winter, I was walking around with my birds, gathering firewood, when I saw this young man. It had been months, almost a year since I'd seen another human and I ran up to him, crying with happiness. He seemed rather surprised himself, and wouldn't quit asking me if I was a devil. I told him the truth, and he told me he'd take care of me if I'd come with him."  
  
"Who was the guy?" Dyne asked curiously.  
  
"You knew him. It was Demitri." This seemed to shock Dyne, and he just stared for a moment, before waving for her to go on. "Well, Demitri took me to his master, Tethis, who asked me to be a soldier in his army."  
  
"What'd you tell him?"  
  
"I said sure. I had nothing to lose, so what did it matter? They trained me to fight, which was something I picked up pretty quickly. Tethis was amazed with how good I was with a sword in just a few months. He eventually made me a commander of his army."  
  
"So why was Demitri working for him? I thought he and Dante had been friends." Dyne asked.  
  
"Yeah, he told me about that. I think he was trapped. . .he told me that a devil general named Gaul sent him to the underworld when he and Dante fought him. Demi told me that Gaul died before they got there, but his son Tethis immediately took him into custody. They tortured him and beat him for five years. . .They were trying to brain wash him, and somewhat succeeded. They turned Demi against Dante, which you saw three years ago."  
  
"Yeah. . ." Dyne nodded. "What did you do after you left my place after Berail?"  
  
"I wanted to do some thinking for a while alone, so I started traveling. After a year, I was at a bar when a big fight started up. Vergil happened to be there, and helped me out. We talked for a while, and he told me he had decided to repent for his wicked ways. I decided to help him out and we've been partners since."  
  
"An interesting story." Dyne approved. Fayze nodded his agreement, and Dyne looked to him. "You got a good story, Fayze?"  
  
Fayze stared at him. "Me next?" Dyne nodded. "Oh, alright. It's nothing great though. What do you want to hear first?"  
  
"How about your family?" Nevia suggested. "And your home."  
  
"Alright. I lived with my mom, dad, and their--"  
  
"No, no! Tell some names." Dyne groaned. "It was confusing enough with Nevia talking about her dad and uncle. Use some names, please."  
  
"Okay, my moms name is Beryl, my dads is Kaos, and we also live with my dads friend, Merin. We've lived on this little island called Zalari Island since I can remember." Dyne recognized all of the names Fayze had just given. He'd heard them from Dante once or twice. "Like I told Dyne and Vergil, we helped out the wolf clan there."  
  
"Have any rough times?" Nevia asked.  
  
Fayze shook his head. "Not really. My dad and Merin travelled a lot, but I had a pretty fun time with my mom and all of the wolf kids. I remember all the kids making fun of Skail because of his name."  
  
"What was wrong with Skail's name? Sounded pretty cool to me." Dyne stated.  
  
"Well, he's Skail for short. His whole first name is Skailoros Lupal." Fayze explained.  
  
"Wow, that's a name there." Dyne laughed. "So, nothing really amazing happened in your life?"  
  
"Well, not really." Fayze rubbed his head. "Not quite as full of detail and excitement as Nevia's. I've had a happy, good life really."  
  
"Hey Fayze. . ." Nevia began. "I was just curious, what kind of demon are you anyways?"  
  
Fayze scratched the back of his neck and sighed. "Well, my dad is half vampire, half devil, and my mom is an immortal human. So I don't really have a 'kind'."  
  
"Immortal?" Dyne asked. He'd never heard of an immortal human before.  
  
"Yeah, the immortals or mystics are humans who can live on forever, never dying of old age and always appearing young and beautiful. They hold magical and healing powers too and created many healing relics. Unfortunatly, there aren't very many of them left in the world. . ."  
  
"Why? It they never die of old age, why would there be so few?"  
  
"Well. . .witchcraft reasons. Many people thought that the mystics were evil practitioners of dark magic. Their population bombed between the tenth and fifteenth centeries because of it. My mothers family went into hiding, but her parents were caught when she was pretty young. . .I think my moms the only one left. . .except me I suppose."  
  
"That's horrible!" Nevia sympathized.   
  
Fayze shrugged. "I know. . ."  
  
Everyone was silent for a moment, until Fayze looked at Dyne. "Are you going to tell us about your past, Dyne?"  
  
"Well. . ." Dyne hesitated. He really didn't feel like talking about it still, but both Nevia and Fayze were pushing at him.  
  
"Come on, we told you ours." Nevia said. "Spit it out."  
  
Dyne grumbled with frustration. "Okay, okay. . ." He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "You all know who my dad is, so there's no point in telling you. My mom was Schala Kiyashi, daughter to Yui Kiyashi, the leader of the wolf clan. She was also Skail's half sister.  
  
"Half sister? I never knew he even had a sister." Fayze said in surprise.  
  
"Yeah, they had different moms. Dante told me a while back. Her mom was a human, so she was a halfy just like my dad. However, I. . .erm. . ."  
  
"What's wrong Dyne?" Nevia asked as he trailed off. She could see a disgruntled look on his face.  
  
"Well, me and Tye seemed to have received quite a bit of demonic blood. . .my dad says we're both about seventy five percent devil. . ."  
  
"That explains your temper. . ." Nevia mumbled. "Anyways," She looked at her watch, seeing that time had flown by. It was now eleven twenty; fourty minutes to go. "keep going. Tell us about your childhood."  
  
"Well, my mom got sick and died when me and Tye were only four. We didn't really understand death when it happened, and Dante told us she had gone to heaven. We thought that just meant she'd gone away to a peaceful, happy place. . ."  
  
"Until you got older, right?"  
  
"Yeah, when we got a little older, we learned about life and death, and me and Tye spent a while mopping and upset. We thought we could have helped her. . ."  
  
Nevia could see that Dyne seemed to be getting upset as he spoke about his mother. "That's enough, you can go on to something else, if you like." Dyne was silent for a while, then finally started talking again.  
  
"My dad went on a lot of missions when we were kids, so he'd get his friend Trish to watch us. My dad still keeps close ties with her." Dyne sighed, brushing some of his bangs behind his ears. "I was always made fun of in school, because everyone said I was a freak. I didn't know I was part devil for a long time. . .One day I got suspended because I was fighting and something really weird happened. . .I don't remember what I did, but the kid I got in the fight with didn't come back to school for two weeks. While I was suspended, my dad explained to me what I was. . .I took it pretty well, really. I ended up with no friends, and beating people up if they messed with me. The only person I could depend on was my brother."  
  
"Why don't you go ahead and quite, Dyne?" Nevia suggested, feeling that Dyne was still upset. "We've heard enough."  
  
Dyne sighed, relieved that he could shut up. After sitting around for quite some more time, Nevia looked at her watch, seeing that they still had ten minutes.  
  
"Is everyone ready? Just in case someone tries to fight us?"  
  
Dyne jumped up, cracking his knuckles. Fayze flicked his butt away, then stood. "We're as ready as we'll ever be." Dyne assured with confidence.  
  
"Well, I wasn't expecting you all here so early." A voice said smoothly. All three at the hilltop looked down the hill, seeing a slinder, snakey looking man with slicked back mossy green colored hair. He smiled smuggly up at them all, his slit eyes moving from one to the other. As he neared them, he waved one hand slightly. "Nice to meet you all. I'm Kumo Orochi." Nevia had heard the name Orochi before somewhere, maybe in a book once. Kumo stared at Dyne and Fayze now. "So, both the chosen kids came, eh? Good job."  
  
"We're not here to join you and your faction pal." Dyne told him. "We just came because of the note someone stuck under our door."  
  
Kumo laughed. "That was me. I take it you didn't want to find out what we'd do if you didn't come, right?" He shrugged, then sighed. "I'm not sure what would have happened if you didn't show. We would have probably come after you, eventually."  
  
"So, what do you want us here for?" Fayze asked.  
  
"Isn't it obvious? I wanted to ask you to join us." Kumo explained. "Our lord would really appreciate your acceptance.  
  
Dyne and Fayze both scoffed. "Do you really think we're going to come along peacefully? Give me a break." Dyne laughed.  
  
Kumo frowned. "So you won't come? Why? If you choose to deny our lord, you'll be destroyed with the rest of the people who don't come to us."  
  
"Do you really think we're supposed to believe all that 'purify the world' bullshit?" Nevia asked at a growl.  
  
Kumo shook his head. "Actually, no. Only the humans think that. They're so gullable and ignorant." He chuckled, rubbing his temples. "They follow orders like ants to their queen. . .It's pitiful."  
  
"If your not planning to purify the world of filth, then what the hell are you planning?" Dyne asked, curious to know.  
  
"Duh." Kumo scoffed. "Take the human world over, of course. If we can get all of the strongest warriors to join us, then no one can stop us." He blabbed.  
  
"So that's what you want us for? We're not that strong, you know." Fayze admitted.  
  
Kumo stared at Fayze. "But wouldn't you like to be strong? Our lord can give you a great deal of power. Trust me, I should know."  
  
"Never!" Dyne spat. "I'll never join your stupid faction! My job is to kill those who want to destroy this world. That means you and this lord of yours."  
  
Kumo shrugged. "Whatever you say then. Guess I'll have to drag you to our master once I've knocked you around a bit."  
  
"The only person that's going to get knocked around is you, buddy." Dyne growled, materializing the Cerbis gauntlet. He took hold of a spike on the top of it, pulling it. As he slowly pulled, a long, thin devil sword came from the hole in the gauntlet. Dyne still couldn't see how such a long blade could get into the gauntlet. He figured it had to do with Cerbis's powers though. He held the sword, ready to fight.  
  
"Now that's a sword, kid." Kumo commented. "But I don't think it'll have quite the umph you're expecting."  
  
"Really?" Dyne smirked. "You don't look so tough."  
  
Kumo grinned. "Oh, I can assure you. . .I'm quite fiesty." He warned, his eyes seeming to gleam brightly. Dyne could feel a sudden power surge of demonic energy in the area as a strange, black aura surrounded Kumo.  
  
Dyne motioned for Fayze and Nevia to spread out, taking Kumo at three sides. He was just standing there, seeming to be powering up. "This human body is just so weak. . .I'd never fight you like this." Kumo said.  
  
"That's good. A better challange." Dyne said as he and the others got into fighting position.  
  
Kumo began to laugh menicingly. "Yes. . .a challenge. . ." His voice was becoming raspy now as the evil aura began to grow.  
  
"What are you doing?" Dyne wondered aloud. He took a step back as the dark energy seemed to shroud his opponent from view. The dark mass of energy slowly grew in size.  
  
Fayze squirmed, making his sword. "I don't like this. . .There's something wrong here." He warned.  
  
"What's he doing?" Dyne asked the other two. Nevia stared over at him, materializing her sword.  
  
"He's transforming! Get ready." Nevia warned. Dyne was quick to do so, waiting for any sign of attack.  
  
After a moment, a giant snakes head was coming at Dyne, and he barely managed to react and jump away without being bitten. He looked before him to see a gargantuan devil with eight massive snake heads with each neck branching down into one thick body. All of the heads were hissing loudly, some looking at the other two fighters.  
  
"Holy shit!" Dyne yelled with surprise. He hadn't expected their opponent to be like this. He had only seemed like a little humanoid at first, but now he looked big and ugly enough to eat a couple of cows.  
  
Another head shot down at Dyne, but he quickly dodged to the side. He drove his sword into the snakes face, causing that one head to rear up and screech in agony.  
  
Nevia was having quite an easy time with one of the heads; she quickly gouged out an eye, sending her blade through its eye and into the brain. The head fell limply to the ground, leaving only seven heads to deal with.  
  
Fayze hopped into the air as a head snapped down at him. He landed on the top of the head, letting his sword pierce into its skull. It screamed shortly, then crumpled to the ground, twitching some. Fayze looked to where Dyne was just finishing off the head he'd started on, leaping up toward the next on. With a sigh, Fayze retracted his sword. "Ogama." He muttered, now causing a scythe to appear. He swiftly bolted under one of the oncoming heads, slicing into its throat as he passed. Blood gushed from the wound, and Fayze narrowly missed being drenched as he dashed out from under the beast. Now there were only four heads left.  
  
"Three." Fayze thought as he saw Dyne fly downward into another head, colliding with the top of its skull with a powerful crunch. The head was thrown into the ground with the blow and hissed out loudly, spurting blood from its screeching mouth. Dyne quickly finished it off by plunging his blade straight into the beasts gapping mouth. He spun around on another head that was coming at him, moving underneath it some and just holding his sword out. He let the serpent squewer itself, then, as the head reared up, he unholstered one of his guns. He took aim, shooting off two rounds into each of its eyes. He lept into the air afterward, bringing his sword up into the snakes lower jaw with an upward slash. He didn't figure it would be doing much after that.  
  
Nevia had the remaining two heads coming after her. She was chopping at one, but it wouldn't seem to go down. Dyne smirked, deciding to help her out. He started walking toward her, watching her take out the first of the two heads with a powerful downward thrust. The serpent head was pinned to the ground with her sword, and Dyne could see the other head coming toward Nevia fast.  
  
"WATCH OUT!!" Dyne yelled, sprinting toward Nevia. He knew she wouldn't have time to react. He got to her, ramming her to the ground. A sudden, piercing pain dug into Dyne's whole right side, and his vision flashed white. He roared with pain as he felt himself being lifted off the ground and could feel what felt like numerous knifes stabbed into the side of his body.  
  
Both Nevia and Fayze could see quite plainly what was happening. The serpent had Dyne in its mouth and was shaking him around in the air like a rag doll. "DYNE!!" Nevia cried out, running up to the snake with Fayze close behind her. They both began to hack into the serpents body, trying to make it release Dyne. As Nevia drove her sword into the beasts body for the sixth time, it let out a piercing screech and slammed Dyne into the ground, freeing him in the process. Fayze hurled his scythe into the air, trying to get the snake in the face. He managed to slash into the side of its lower jaw, shattering the bone. Its mouth now just hung open oddly, and it backed away from the three.  
  
"WE"LL MEET AGAIN!!" The serpent roared. A large, dark, spell portal suddenly opened on the ground next to Kumo, and the snake dove in, escaping from the battle.  
  
Nevia took little time to run over to Dyne's aid, gasping as she caught sight of the long line of massive holes along his side in the shape of the serpents mouth. His breathing was raspy and labored, and he just layed there, groaning slightly.  
  
"Hang on!" Nevia cried, undoing the buttons of Dyne's blood soaked overshirt. She tried to get him to sit up, but to no avail. She glared at Fayze, who was watching. "Don't just stand there! Give me a hand!" Fayze helped her get him sat up, then helped her remove his overshirt completely. Dyne groaned loudly with pain as they both pulled off his undershirt. With him sat up, the two could see that the wounds were on both his front and back. Nevia hissed painfully as she looked at the wounds, and Fayze looked like he was about to vomit. Each hole was a good inch in diameter, and they seemed swollen. The skin around the holes was a purplish tint, and blood seeped out with each breath Dyne took.  
  
Nevia took the tattered undershirt Dyne had been wearing and pressed it firmly against his chest to try and lessen the bleeding. He moaned lightly, then wimpered as she applied the other shirt to his back. Nevia lifted the shirt on his chest slightly, to check if the wounds were healing. She watched for a moment, but saw that they weren't.  
  
"What's wrong?! He's not healing." Nevia asked, her voice breaking slightly. Fayze looked up at her, seeing tears streaming down her red cheeks. "Why aren't they closing up?!"  
  
Fayze looked down at Dyne now. He leaned down and slowly tried to pick the wounded Dyne up, causing him to moan with pain.  
  
"What are you doing?!" Nevia spat, standing. Fayze drapped the heavy body over his shoulder, causing himself to sag horribly under the weight.  
  
"We've got to get him back to your house. Maybe Vergil can help." Fayze explained, trying to move Dyne so that he could comfortably carry him.  
  
Nevia bit her lower lip, then wiped the tears from her face. She came next to Fayze, taking hold of one of Dyne's dangling arms. "Let me help you then."  
  
Fayze grunted, but shook his head, pulling away from Nevia. "No. If the faction sees us, I'm going to need some cover. You watch out for me, okay?"  
  
Nevia hesitated for only a moment before nodding. "Let's hurry then."  
  
MWAHAHAH!! I just love to put Dyne in pain. He deserves it for being such an ass all the time.   
  
Dyne: (sobs) She hates me. . . ;;  
  
Burry: No I don't! (hugs) This is just your role!  
  
Dyne: ;; Well, I wouldn't have this role, if you liked me. . . .  
  
Please, review! I'd hate to think that the only person in the world reading this is Bustahead! (Not that that's a bad thing! ) 


	9. Chapter 9

Well, I'm quite thankful to the ones who reviewed me! Thanks guys. I'm feeling much better now.  
  
Chapter 9  
  
Vergil moved away from Dyne after his inspection, sighing deeply. "He seems poisoned."  
  
"Poisoned?!" Nevia cried. She was quick to come to Dyne's side, pushing Vergil out of the way in the process. "What do you mean, poisoned?!"  
  
"I mean exactly what I said. The poison seems to have slowed his healing powers, so it'll be some time before the wounds close all the way. His internal organs are already healed completely, but the skin and muscles are going to take a bit longer." Vergil explained.  
  
Nevia stroked her fingers through Dyne's hair, tears beginning to whell up in her eyes again. "Is he going to live? Can we cure him?"  
  
Vergil was reluctant to answer. He really wasn't sure about that. "If he rests, he might be alright. I can't say for sure."  
  
Fayze sat back from the others, biting one of his fingernails as he stared at Dyne on the couch. "So, we don't know if he'll live?"  
  
Vergil sighed again. "We can only hope. If we're lucky, his body will run the poison out of his system. It might take a few days though."  
  
Nevia felt some relief at this, but was anxious at Vergil's insecurity. She looked down at Dyne to see sweat was beaded on his now paling face, and he was shivering slightly. As Nevia wiped some sweat from his brow, she could feel that he was very hot. "Why's he running a fever?"  
  
"Probably from the poison. His body's trying to fight it." Vergil guessed. "We should get him to his room, so he can rest."  
  
"Yeah. . ." Nevia agreed, beginning to try and pick Dyne up. Vergil moved her, taking Dyne up himself.  
  
"Let me." Vergil insisted.  
  
Nevia was upset at this, but nodded. "Fine, but I'm going to wrap his wounds."  
  
"Be my guest." Vergil said as he left the room with Dyne in his arms. The boy was still bleeding some, but not as bad as he had been. Nevia ran to get her medical things, then rushed into the spare room. Vergil had already removed Dyne's guns, and was just about to lay him down.  
  
"Don't lay him down! Keep him set upright. I've got to patch him up." Nevia yelled, not wanting the sheets of the bed to get bloody. Vergil did as he was asked and held Dyne upright, so that Nevia could tend to him.  
  
Nevia sat next to Dyne and went to work cleaning out the wounds and wrapping his chest with gauze wrap. She was soon finished, and allowed Vergil to lay the boy down on his back.  
  
"Now what?" Nevia asked Vergil nervously as she covered Dyne with a blanket.  
  
"We do the only thing we can do. . .wait."  
  
After Vergil left the room, Nevia got herself a chair and sat it next to Dyne's bed, waiting. She ocasionally would leave the room to get cool water and a rag to put on Dyne's head, to try and reduce his fever. It had been over eleven hours since Dyne had been layed down, and he didn't seem to be getting any better. His face was ghostly white, and sweat poured down his face. Nevia had to uncover his body, just to cool his chest off. She even turned down the air conditioner.  
  
Nevia sat next to Dyne, holding his limp hand in her own. She was beginning to think that he would never recuperate. She just wanted to see his eyes open again, even for just a moment.  
  
"Dyne. . ." She muttered. "please. . .wake up. You've got to get through this." She held Dyne's hand up to her face. Dispite his fever, his hands were extremely cold. "Dyne. . ."  
  
A very soft and nearly inaudible whimper came from Dyne, and Nevia gasped at it, dropping Dyne's hand to the bed. She saw his eyebrows and lips twist some as he stirred in his sleep, then he partially opened his eyes. Weakly, he blinked and looked over to Nevia.  
  
"N. . .Nevia?" He asked in a soft, weak voice. Nevia yelped with happiness, laying her body over Dyne's chest in an awkward hug. Dyne groaned as a dull pain spread through his chest. Nevia realized that his wounds hadn't healed completely yet, and quickly got off of him. She sighed with relief as Dyne stared at her weakly.  
  
"I'm so glad you're alright." She said, her face showing the most sincere look of concern Dyne had ever seen. "I thought you were going to die."  
  
Dyne just watched her for a moment, breathing shallowly. "You. . .were really worried about me?" Dyne finally asked softly.  
  
Nevia stared at him in bewilderment. "Of course I was worried! We weren't sure if you were going to live or not. . ." Nevia trailed off here, and Dyne just watched her silently. He tried to rub his face, but couldn't seem to move his arm.  
  
"What's wrong with me? Why can't I move?" Dyne asked, beginning to worry about himself.  
  
"You've been poisoned." Nevia explained. Dyne groaned weakly, feeling completely drained of energy.  
  
He shivered slightly. "I'm so cold. . .and my head feels like its going to explode. . ." Dyne groaned. "I feel really sick. . ."  
  
"Well, of course." Nevia agreed. She put a cool rag on his head, covered him with his blanket, and smiled. "Just rest, okay? You need to get well."  
  
Dyne groaned his agreement, then rolled his head away from Nevia to stare at the ceiling. "How long have I been out?"  
  
Nevia looked over at the clock at Fayze's bedside. "About thirteen hours. It's two in the morning."  
  
"Damn. . ." Dyne grumbled. He'd never been wounded for that long before. Usually he was better within an hour or so. He could see now why Nevia was so worried about his safety. "Have you been watching over me the whole time?"  
  
"Most of the time." Nevia admitted. Dyne sighed and wondered why she would care for him that much. Maybe she really did like him or something.  
  
"Thanks then. . ." He said, closing his eyes. He still felt horrible, and couldn't find the strength to move anything but his head yet. "I must look pitiful, huh?"  
  
Nevia didn't answer, merely leaned forward some and brushed some of his hair back. "Just rest. . ."  
  
"Yeah. . ." Dyne groaned. "You know. . .you remind me of how my mother used to treat me when I was sick."  
  
"Oh really?" She smiled. "How is that?"  
  
"Well, I don't remember her well, but I remember when I felt bad, she would sit with me at my bed and sing to me while messing with my hair." Dyne smiled, watching Nevia.  
  
"Thanks then. You want me to sing to you?" She felt kind of awkward, but she would sing if he'd like.  
  
"Only if you can." Nevia nodded, still stroking his head. She began to hum a tune, one that she had heard quite often from Vergil. Dyne looked at her curiously as he heard it. "That song. . ." Dyne trailed off. "Never mind. . .I didn't know you could sing. . ." Now Dyne closed his eyes, sighing deeply. "I know that song though. . ." Nevia continued to run her fingers through Dyne's hair for a moment, until she was quite sure that he was asleep again. She moved away from him, watching him for a second before standing from her chair.  
  
"Sleep well, Dyne." She told him, then left the room. As she went down the hall to the living room, Fayze was coming to the room for bed. She gave him a thumbs up to tell him that Dyne was looking good.  
  
"Excellent." Fayze smiled. It was good to know that the guy was going to be alright.  
  
"Good night Fayze." Nevia said as she continued to the living room. She heard the spare bedroom door close as she came in front of the couch, where Vergil sat quietly.  
  
"Is he okay?" He asked, looking up at Nevia with a rather tired look on his face.  
  
"I think so." Nevia said with a smile. Vergil stood then, stretching longly.  
  
"Good then. I can go off to bed without having to worry so much." As he passed Nevia to get to his own room, he put his hand on Nevia's head, ruffling her hair some. "You should get some sleep too, you know."  
  
"Right. . ." Nevia sighed. She was dreadfully tired herself, and yawned. "I'll see you in the morning."  
  
Nevia followed Vergil until he turned off into his room, then went off to her room. As she came into the small bedroom, she flicked on the light. Her room was rather messy; cloths were spread all over the floor, mostly from searching for clothes for Dyne and Fayze. Now she'd have to find more shirts for Dyne.  
  
"If this keeps up, I'll be out of shirts in a week." Nevia told herself as she began to dig through her closet for some shirts she thought Dyne might find suitable. She pulled out another long sleeved over shirt, this one dark blue. She hoped it wouldn't end up like the black one she'd given Dyne earlier. She also found a white cotton t-shirt, plenty big enough for Dyne to fit into.  
  
With the shirts picked out, it was time for bed. Nevia threw herself onto her mattress, curling up under the blankets. She was quickly drifting off, smiling lightly as she did so. "I'm glad he's alright. . ."  
  
"Dyne. . ." A voice whispered calmly. Dyne was again within the darkness of his nightmare, sitting on the ground. He couldn't stand for some reason. It seemed that even in this dream he wasn't healed from the poison. His eyes darted around, searching for the owner of the voice. He knew exactly who it was.  
  
"Not today. . ." Dyne groaned. He wouldn't be able to fight the demon this time, not in the condition he was in. "Leave me alone."  
  
The devil suddenly materialized in front of Dyne, glaring down at him. "Why not? Don't you enjoy my company?"  
  
"Yeah," Dyne scoffed. "like a hernia." He narrowed his eyes at the devil. "Don't you have anything better to do? Like hide under little kids beds or something?"  
  
"Why, pray tell, would I do that?" The demon asked, almost sounding curious. "I'm not a boogy man."  
  
"Then what the hell are you making me have these nightmares for?" Dyne growled. "I already told you, I'm not interested in joining you."  
  
"And I already told you. . .I'm going to take you by force." Dyne could barely make out a thin smile across the devils face. "You're too weak to fight me today. It should prove easy to take you under my control."  
  
Dyne tried to scooch himself backwards some, but his legs wouldn't move. "That's what you're planning? To take control of me?"  
  
"In a matter of speaking, yes." The devil replied, moving closer. "You'll see what I mean once I've finished."  
  
Dyne began to panic as the demon put out his hand. The dark slime shot from the demon, plastering onto Dyne's lower body. Dyne couldn't lift a finger to retaliate against it. In frustration, Dyne yelled out as the ooze crawled quickly up his chest and to his neck. He felt it coming up the bottom of his chin, then it was suddenly over is face and eyes. As it completely covered him, the darkness turned to a blood red color, and he felt as though he was sinking into something. Dyne shut his eyes tightly, hoping that he would wake up soon.  
  
As he continued to sink, a fearful thought crossed Dyne's mind. What if he didn't wake up? What would happen to him? There was nothing he could do to fight against it, so he just kept falling, and falling. . .  
  
Until he felt something suddenly take hold of his arm. He felt himself being pulled up from whatever it was he was sinking into. He felt himself be ripped from the dark slime, and opened his eyes in surprise.  
  
"Are you alright?" A calm, smooth , familiar voice asked. Dyne stared up at a man sitting next to him. They looked the same age as Dyne, and their face looked exactly like Dyne's, but their hair was jet black and their eyes yellow.  
  
"Who are. . ." Dyne began to ask weakly. He felt more drained now than he had before he'd been covered.  
  
"It's me, Cerbis." The man explained. Now Dyne knew where he'd heard the voice; it was the same one he heard every time Cerbis spoke to him in his mind. He'd never seen him in a human form before. "I can't believe I could actually help you this time."  
  
"Thanks." Dyne said with a smirk. "Why do you look like me though?"  
  
Cerbis stood up, helping Dyne to his feet as well. "There's no time to explain. We've got to get you woken up." As Cerbis took Dyne by the hand, he spun around to see the dark devil, stooping over him.  
  
"How dare you interfere." The devil growled angrily. It was something quite different from his usual calm, soft voice. "You impudent cur!"  
  
Cerbis pushed Dyne away from him and to the ground as the demon backhanded him across the face. Cerbis stumbled to his side a bit, but continued standing. He glared up at the devil bravely.  
  
"So long as I'm here, you'll never take my master." Cerbis stated with a look of determination in his face.  
  
The devil sneered at him. "If that's the case, then we'll just have to remove you, won't we?"  
  
Dyne watched as the demon grabbed Cerbis by his head. He brought Cerbis's head down into his knee, then threw him away. Cerbis stumbled back quite a bit before regaining his balance. He charged at the devil now, and when he was within range, he brought his hand at the devils face. The demon clenched Cerbis's hand tightly, leering at him.  
  
"Begone." the devil said cooly. Dyne saw a sword like blade materialize in his hand, and he thrusted it into Cerbis's chest. Cerbis groaned softly, backing away as the demon let him loose and withdrew the blade. The devil wasn't finished, and in one quick punch, he toppled Cerbis to the ground with a dull thud.  
  
"NO!" Dyne cried out, unable to move from his spot on the ground. Cerbis weakly turned his head over to Dyne, blood seeping from his nose and mouth. He yelped in pain as the demon kicked him in the stomach, and Dyne could see the bastard bending down next to the spirit.  
  
"Now, you die, little weakling." the demon said in his usual tone. He pressed one hand onto the top of Cerbis's head, pushing down hard as if to smash his skull. Cerbis cried out in agony, still looking at Dyne.  
  
"You have to wake up, NOW!" Cerbis cried, weakly taking ahold of the devils arm. He tried to remove it from his head, but could only relieve some of the pressure from his skull. "HURRY OR WE BOTH LOSE!"  
  
Dyne suddenly shot up in bed, gasping. He held his hand to his chest, where his heart raced. His eyes darted around, and he could see that he was in his room. His body trembled with both fright and weakness and he felt like he was going to puke.  
  
"Cerbis?" Dyne whispered weakly through a heavy breath of air. He waited for a moment, not getting a reply. "Cerbis?" There was still nothing, but Dyne could sense that the spirit was still within him. However, he could tell something was wrong. "Cerbis, answer me!!" Dyne yelled mentally. He sensed Cerbis shift slightly in his body, but it seemed very weak.  
  
"Dyne. . . I'm very sorry. . ." Cerbis finally said. His voice was usually smooth, yet lively. Now he sounded weak and almost hoarse.  
  
"Are you alright?" There was no answer for a moment, but finally Dyne heard him sigh.  
  
"I. . .I don't know."  
  
"What the hell just happened?!"  
  
Cerbis shifted around some and shuddered. "I'm wounded pretty badly. . .I had to get you woken up before he killed me and possessed you. . .but. . ."  
  
"It worked, I'm fine." Dyne assured. "What are you 'but' ing about?"  
  
"I used up almost all of my power to rouse you. . .I'm lucky to still be alive."  
  
"What do you. . ." Dyne caught a glimpse of his bangle as he slowly brought his hand away from his chest. The usually brilliant, blue saphire within it was a dull, cloudy greyish blue. "What's wrong with you?"  
  
"Dyne. . .almost all of my energy is expended. Huh. . .if you could see me now. . .I'm a pitiful wreck. I don't think I'll be of much use to you anymore." Cerbis explained weakly.  
  
Dyne shook his head at Cerbis. "Don't say that! I'm sure you can still help me!"  
  
"I can't lend you my powers anymore. Sure, you can still use the gauntlet, but I won't be able to fuse my energy with yours. . ."  
  
Dyne sighed, smiling thinly. It didn't really matter to him if he couldn't use Cerbis to boost up his devil trigger. He was plenty strong without Cerbis's energy too. Besides, he almost never used his fused devil trigger anyways. "I can still use the gauntlet, right?"  
  
"Yes. . ."  
  
"Then what do we have to worry about? I'll be fine. You being my weapon is help enough."  
  
Cerbis chuckled softly. "Thank. . .you. . .master. . ."  
  
"When do you think you'll get better?" Dyne asked curiously.  
  
"I don't know. . .I'm sorry. . ."  
  
Dyne sighed softly, then carefully draped his legs over the side of the bed. His body was still very weak, but after his dream, he seemed to have some adrenaline in his veins. He slowly got to his feet, his head throbbing horribly. The room seemed to spin slightly, and Dyne held one hand to his head.  
  
"I need a drink. . ." Dyne grumbled. He looked around for a moment, seeing Fayze laying in his own bed. He looked rather peaceful there, and Dyne felt the urge to shake him awake, just for looking that way. "How can he be sleeping so well? I thought he had those dreams too. . ." Dyne figured that they didn't have them at the same time all the time, even though that had been the case the night before.  
  
With a deep breath, Dyne slowly shuffled from the room. His mind was so askewed, that he staggered around the hall to the bathroom drunkenly. His eyes were no help, because of the darkness. He just hoped that no one was awake.  
  
As Dyne came to the bathroom, he leaned against the wall weakly, taking in deep breaths of air. Just the quick walk to the bathroom seemed to have exausted him. "I just need a quick drink. . .then I'm back off to bed." Dyne told himself. He could see throught the cracks in the door that the light was on and began fumbled around for the doorknob. Once he had a hold on it, he quickly turned it, using his weight to open the door.  
  
As he stumbled inside, there was a quick yelp of surprise and Dyne could see Nevia, standing there in front of him in the middle of the bathroom, completely naked and wet. Dyne's reaction time was so screwed up, that he didn't even try to dash out of the room with embarrassment or make a remark. He just stood there dumbly, staring at Nevia's slinder body.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?!?!?" Nevia hissed lowly, trying to keep her voice down. She snatched up a towel on the sink top, covering herself as quickly as possible. Her face was completely scarlet and she just glared at Dyne viciously. Dyne was just standing there with a sickly look to him. Everything suddenly sunk in, and his cheeks flushed a pink that was quite obvious over his almost white face. However, his mind was so disfuntional at the moment that he just continued on with what he was doing. Nevia could tell something was wrong with him.  
  
"I'm getting a drink." He stated weakly, moving to the sink. He bent over and turned on the faucet, cupping his hands to catch the water. He began to drink, and also splashed some onto his face to try and cool it down. "She's gonna kill me, she's gonna kill me. . ." Dyne thought miserably. The water didn't seem to help any, and his consiousness seemed to sink away from him as he stood back up. "I. . .I'm goin' off ta bed now. . ." Dyne babbled. "I'll see ya-"  
  
Suddenly, Dyne's legs gave out on him. As he fell, his head smashed into the sink top, and he crumpled to the floor. Nevia gasped and bent to his side, pulling the upper half of his body up into her arms. There was a large gash on Dyne's forehead, where he had slammed into the sink counter.  
  
"Dyne? Dyne, what happened?!" Nevia cried softly. She held her towel onto herself with one hand, trying to figure out what she was going to do. "You just hang on there. . ."  
  
Nevia laid him down on the floor gently, then hurriedly ran into her room to get dressed. When she returned, Dyne was exactly how she'd left him; laying on his back with blood seeping from his forehead. She moved over by the toilet and grabbed the toilet paper, rolling some onto her hand. She then came back to Dyne and began patting at his head.  
  
"What was he doing?" She wondered, getting ready to lift him from the floor. She managed to pick him up as gently as possible, and slowly left the bathroom, taking Dyne back to his room. "I wonder if he even noticed me. . ."  
  
As Nevia nudged the bedroom door open, she could hear Dyne groaning softly. At least he was still alive. She took him over to his bed and laid him down again, covering him up. She shook her head and sighed as she left the room to get some more cold water.   
  
Fayze was the first to wake up the next morning, with rays of sunlight beaming into his eyes through the window. He squinted painfully, feeling a bit more worn out than he had the night before. He looked around the room, then caught sight of Dyne's bed. Next to it, Nevia seemed to be asleep. She was sitting in a chair, but the upper half of her body was leaned down onto Dyne's bed. Dyne was also asleep, his face looking a bit brighter now.  
  
Fayze slowly pulled him legs over the side of the bed, then stretched tirely. He was just so tired for some reason. . .As he cracked his neck and yawned, he slipped on his shirt and stood up. His clock read nine, which meant that Fayze had overslept. . .  
  
"Nine!? What the hell am I doing asleep at nine!?" Fayze yelled at himself mentally. He grumbled lightly as he trudged from the room, cursing himself under his breath. "Nine. . .sheesh. . ."  
  
Vergil was sitting at the kitchen table with a warm cup of coffee just as Fayze came in. He could see that the boy seemed to be anrgy; his eyes gleamed with violence for some unknown reason.  
  
"Good morning there Fayze. . ." Vergil greeted with a yawn. He didn't exactly look very well himself; his hair was a mess, as though he hadn't brushed it this morning, and his eyes seemed glazed a bit.  
  
"Yeah, hi. . ." Fayze grumbled. "What happened to you? You're comb kick the bucket?"  
  
"Hmmm..." Vergil hummed, taking a sip of his coffee. "Someone's snappy. God, what's with everyone today? Dyne's sick, you've got some wild hair up your ass, Nevia's being nice to Dyne. . ."  
  
"So? I'm fine. Just overslept." Fayze explained.  
  
"Suuure. . ."  
  
Fayze glared at Vergil for just a moment before turning away and getting a bowl down from one of the cabinets. He proceeded to make a bowl of cereal, then sat down across from Vergil to begin eating.  
  
Vergil watched for a moment, still trying to figure out what was wrong with the boy. "Did you have one of those dreams again?"  
  
"No." Fayze put bluntly, stabbing a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. Not only was he tired, but he was very hungry. "I slept fine. Just too much." Fayze looked up at Vergil, gazing at his cloudy, saggy eyes. "Looks like you didn't sleep at all."  
  
"Not really, no." Vergil admitted. "Couldn't seem to. . .drift off. . ."  
  
"Hmph." Was all Fayze replied, finishing off his breakfast. He stood up suddenly, putting the empty bowl onto the counter next to the sink and began storming back to his room.  
  
"Damn. . .What's his problem?" Vergil wondered, yawning again. He really did want to sleep. "Damn it all to hell. . ."  
  
Nevia was jostled awake as the door to the bedroom was slammed loudly. As she spun her head to see who it was, she saw Fayze trudging toward his bed. "You okay?"  
  
"No." Fayze spat, grabbing up his jacket and digging through the pockets. He retrieved his pack of smokes and then left the room, slamming the door behind him again.  
  
This time, Dyne stirred to life, groaning lightly. He opened his eyes thinly and stared at Nevia with a confused look on his face.  
  
"What the hell was that?"  
  
Nevia shrugged. "I don't know. . .Fayze looked pissed."  
  
"Fayze? Why?"  
  
"Don't know. . .he didn't say." Nevia decided not to worry about Fayze for the moment and instead turned her full attention to Dyne. "How're you feeling?"  
  
Dyne made a quick grunt, then tried to sit up. It took a moment, but he succeeded, then smiled thinly. "I feel a lot better, I guess."  
  
Nevia put one hand on his head, which had cooled down considerably since last night. "Well, your fever's gone, so looks like you're gonna be fine."  
  
Dyne did feel a bit better; not quite so stiff anymore. His wounds were completely healed now, but he still felt a bit shaky. He didn't see any reason to tell Nevia about the dream and Cerbis. . .She might get worried about him. He carefully began to get up off the bed, Nevia giving him a hand up.  
  
"You feeling okay then?" Nevia asked as Dyne was completely upright, swaying a little unbalanced.  
  
"Yeah. . ." Dyne admitted, starting to walk around the room to test himself. His was just a little stiff and achy, but he could walk just fine. However, there seemed to be a space in his mind that was emptied and weak.  
  
"Poor Cerbis. . ." Dyne thought. He imagined that the spirit was resting up, trying to recuperate. "Well," he began out loud. "I can move. So everythings gonna be cool."  
  
"You're not going to end up like you were last night, right?" Nevia asked before she could stop herself. She should have just kept her mouth shut. It might have been possible that he didn't even remember the bathroom incident.  
  
"What?" Dyne asked blankly. He had his brows cocked in confusion, and just stared at Nevia. "What about last night?"  
  
"Oh. . .so you don't remember?"  
  
Dyne suddenly flushed pink as he tried to remember what he had done after talking to Cerbis last night. "Oh. . .I, er. . .Yeah, that. . ."  
  
Nevia rubbed the back of her neck with embarrassment. "I swear. . .Don't you ever tell ANYONE what you saw last night. Got it?"  
  
Dyne nodded once to show his affirmination. "Gotcha. And I won't tell anyone about your small breasts."  
  
Nevia turned so red that Dyne thought her head would explode. "T-they are not, you perv. . ."  
  
"Yeah, right. You were as flat as a board!" Dyne laughed. He had never really thought about Nevia's breast size before. He'd never seen her in any tight clothes. . .but he hadn't really cared to.  
  
Nevia wanted no more discrimination against herself. "Enough, lets just go get something for breakfast."  
  
"Fine then." Dyne knew he better just shut up now, before Nevia got too angry. "I'm hungry. . ."  
  
"I bet. You're ALWAYS hungry."  
  
"I know." Dyne smirked.  
  
Vergil smiled with satisfaction as he saw Nevia walk into the kitchen with Dyne next to her. "Good, he's alright. How're you feeling?"  
  
"Better." Dyne replied as he took a seat. "A little stiff and lightheaded. . .but I'm fine, none the less."  
  
"Glad to hear it." Vergil said with a nod.  
  
"By the way. . ." Nevia began to ask as she started to cook up a pot of porridge. "What's wrong with Fayze?"  
  
"I haven't the slightest clue." Vergil shrugged. "He came in this morning acting all pissed off. I don't know what his problem was. 'Supposibly,' he overslept. I don't buy that crap."  
  
"Where is he?" Dyne asked.  
  
"I'm not sure, I saw him turn the corner from the kitchen, so he must be down the hall somewhere. Probably the bathroom."  
  
Just then the three heard a door slam shut, and Fayze came tromping into the kitchen, still looking quite upset.  
  
"I want to go for a walk or something. Who's coming?" Fayze asked bluntly. It sounded more like a demand than asking.  
  
"Jeez. . .what's your problem man?" Dyne asked.  
  
Vergil scoffed at Fayze. "Why would I go for a walk with someone who's being a pissy ass?"  
  
Fayze was silent for a moment, only standing with his eyes blazing. "I'm sorry. . .I'm just. . .in a foul mood right now. Please forgive me." Everyone could see the flames die down some in his eyes, and Vergil sighed.  
  
"It's alright. We all have our off days, right?"  
  
"I suppose so. . ." Fayze grumbled. "Will you come then?"  
  
"Sure, I guess." Vergil agreed, standing up. "I want to head by the pub anyways."  
  
Dyne perked up. "They have a bar in this town?"  
  
"Yep." Vergil nodded. "Good place for beer, food, info. . .girls."  
  
Dyne stood up at that. "I wanna go!" Nevia plopped a bowl of porridge down in front of him.  
  
"No, you're too weak. Just stay here and rest up. Eat this." Nevia argued.  
  
"But, I feel fine!" Dyne protested. "I'll eat over there. Besides, I need to excersise these muscles."  
  
"Oh, yeah right. Like that's really why you want to go." Nevia scoffed.  
  
"Yeah, I need to stretch out some." Dyne bull shitted. "Come on."  
  
Vergil laughed some, then rubbed his eyes. "Aw, let him come. I'll keep a close eye on him."  
  
Nevia rolled her eyes at both of them, then shrugged. "Fine. Go on."  
  
Hm...I just love making Dyne suffer. . .I seem to like poisoning people too. . .that's twice now that I've poisoned a character. . .Meh, oh well. I had to do something to make the little trud suffer. . .  
  
Dyne: (glares malivolently) Bitch. . . 


	10. Pubs and Vampires

I'm feeling better now, knowing that I have more readers. (Bows to all) Arigato guys! I appreciate them thoroughly. Oh, Koyukitori, if you want a pic, email me and I'll send it back to you .  
  
Busta, Don't get upset. . .I'm not planning on killing anyone. . .yet. (smirks)  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Vergil hurried the boys into the pub, just in case anyone tried to ambush them. He came in last, shutting the door behind him. Dyne and Fayze looked around some, the smell of booze, food, and cigarette smoke quite strong in the air. There didn't seem to be too many people around, and only about ten tables. Five of the tables were filled, and Vergil ushered the two to one of the empty tables.  
  
"Sit guys, and relax." Vergil persuaded. Dyne was obliged to do so, even though he felt a little irritable. However, Fayze was a bit hesitant about it. After a long sigh, he finally sat, slouching in his seat. "This is really an alright place Fayze. Just calm down."  
  
"I am calm. . .I've just never been to a bar before." Fayze admitted.  
  
"Well, it's more of a tavern. . .its got waiters and stuff. They just get a lot of business off the drinks too."  
  
After a moment, a waiter came up. Dyne nearly laughed. Waiter? This guy looked more like a pirate than a waiter. He wore a skull cap over his head, and his face was in need of a quick shave. "Can I git you boys anything?" The waiter asked in a strong, dirty, British sounding accent. This guy had to be some kind of ex-pirate or something.  
  
Vergil nodded. "Yeah, burgers and scotch, all around." This was fine by Dyne, but Fayze stared at Vergil.  
  
"Um, Vergil. . .I'm underage." Fayze stated.  
  
The waiter eyed the boy. "Are you plannin' te pay?"  
  
"Well, of course."  
  
"Then you ain't underage." Dyne and Vergil laughed lightly as the waiter left, leaving Fayze staring off at the man blankly.  
  
"Hm. . .I don't know about this. . ." Fayze grumbled. "I've never drunken before. I mean, I've had table wine, but never any hard liquor."  
  
"I won't give you much. Calm down." Vergil explained.  
  
Fayze glared at him. "I AM calm. . .And don't treat me like a child."  
  
"Easy, easy. . .jeez kid, don't bite my head off." Vergil groaned. "I think you could use the drink, maybe it'll mellow you out."  
  
"Yeah." Dyne agreed, Fayze's glare now resting on Dyne. "Don't look at me like that; we're just stating the truth. Chill."  
  
Fayze grumbled lightly, then started digging around in his jacket, which he had put on before they'd left the house. He retrieved a cig, and quickly began to smoke.  
  
"Jeez man, you're gonna get cancer. . ." Dyne laughed.  
  
"Oh, shut up. . ."  
  
Finally, the waiter returned with a platter with three burgers. He also had with him a bottle of scotch and three small glasses, which he sat down for them. "I'll be back with the bill later." Then he left, and Vergil began to pass around the goods.  
  
Famished, Dyne tore into his hamburger, taking giant, almost choking sized bites. Fayze ate his too, but at a much slower pace. Vergil just seemed to pick at his slowly, obviously not that hungry.  
  
"Are you okay Verg? You really don't look too well." Dyne said between a mouthful of food.  
  
Vergil rubbed his temples lightly. "I'm pretty tired. . .but I can't seem to sleep at all." He explained. "Nerves, I suppose."  
  
"What do you have to be nervous about?" Fayze snapped. "You aren't the one being stalked by a bunch of religious nuts, if that's what they are."  
  
"Temper, temper. Christ, you're getting worse than Dyne over there." Vergil laughed.  
  
"Hey!" Dyne defended. "I've been pretty calm lately."  
  
"This is true." Vergil began to pour out the glasses of scotch as he saw Dyne finish his burger. He first handed a glass to Fayze. "Here, drink it and mellow out."  
  
Fayze stared at the glass. "You drink it first."  
  
Vergil shrugged. "Fine then. Maybe I can get some sleep later." He quickly slammed to glass, much to Dyne's surprise. "There, satisfied?"  
  
Dyne was already sipping lightly at his glass, watching Fayze glare at the drink. "It isn't going anywhere unless you drink it, man."  
  
"Quiet. I'm going to drink it. . .just give me a moment here." He picked up the drink, and tried to slam it, just as Vergil had. Dyne saw his face turn to one of surprise, but he managed to get the drink down. He gasped afterward, coughing. "What the hell?!"  
  
"Good stuff, eh?" Vergil chuckled. "I usually wouldn't admit the drinking of a minor, but in your case, I'll make an acceptation."  
  
"That was just fucking awful!" Fayze coughed. His whole mouth burned like fire, as did his throat. He felt a little lightheaded as well.  
  
Vergil held up the bottle. "What some more?"  
  
Fayze nodded quickly, deciding that he would. He took this next glass much more slowly. Dyne was becoming somewhat bored, and began to look around the pub now. Near the door he could see a group of men and one woman, sitting around at their table, cursing and yelling at one another. As he continued looking around, his eyes found a table where two girls sat, chatting away with one another. They were rather nice looking, both wearing modern teen type clothing. Dyne tapped his hand on the table to alert Fayze and Vergil.  
  
"Check out the chicks over there." He whispered. "You think they'd talk to me?"  
  
"Possibly." Vergil admitted. "Go on if you want."  
  
Dyne smirked. "Okay, you guys watch this. I'm gonna charm those two with my handsome looks." Vergil had to laugh. Sure, Dyne was good looking, but his attitude was far from charming.  
  
Dyne smoothly walked up to the ladies table, smirking coolly. Both women saw him just as he reached the table.  
  
"Morning ladies." Dyne greeted slyly. The girls stared at him for a moment, then to one another. Dyne could see a look of annoyance on their faces.  
  
"Yeah. . .hi. Do you mind? We're kinda talking here. Could you go away, please?" One of the girls, a good looking blonde haired girl said, staring at Dyne almost in disgust.  
  
"Er. . ." This surprised Dyne. He had certainly not expected THAT response from them. He hid his anger and surprise under a thin smile. "Alright. Sorry to have bothered you. . ." He turned around, and began back to his table, his smile changing to a pouty, upset look. He could see both Fayze and Vergil snickering back at his table.  
  
"Go on, laugh it up. . .I know I looked pitiful. . ." Dyne grumbled as he sat back down.  
  
Vergil laughed. "I'm so sorry. . .you certainly did look rather. . .miserable."  
  
"Yes. . .quite. . ." Fayze laughed, somewhat tipsy now.  
  
"Oh, like you could do better?" Dyne asked, glaring at the amused looking Fayze.  
  
"Actually. . .yes. Watch me." Fayze stood up, not looking the least bit drunk. He slowly advanced toward the ladies, who didn't even see him coming.  
  
"Good morning." Fayze greeted coolly as he came by their table. They both looked up at him, somewhat shocked that he had managed to get so close without them noticing. After a few moments, however their faces of surprise changed to a shy, almost cute smile.  
  
"Um, hi there." One of them greeted back, blushing lightly. They looked to one another, then back to Fayze.  
  
"Could I interest you ladies in a drink, perhaps?" Fayze asked in a suave, kind tone. The girls both smiled sheepishly, then nodded.  
  
"Sure. . ." Fayze called the waiter over and asked for two drinks. He then smiled back to the girls. "Um, would you like to sit here with us?"  
  
"Oh, it would be an honor." Fayze took a seat next to the women, and Dyne could only gawk at this sight in disbelief.  
  
"How did he. . ." Dyne whispered. What did those two see in Fayze that they had not in Dyne? Irritated, he watched the three chatter excitedly, before Fayze finally stood from the table.  
  
"I'm afraid I must take my leave. It was a pleasure speaking with you girls." Fayze said coolly, bowing slightly to the ladies.  
  
"Oh, wait. . ." one began. "Could I, um. . .give you my number?"  
  
"Yeah, me too!" the other piped in. Fayze smiled gently to them both.  
  
"I suppose, if you like."  
  
One of the girls began to dig through her purse before getting out a small notepad and pen. She scribbled something down quickly, then handed a piece of paper to Fayze. "There, that's both of our numbers."  
  
Fayze took the paper, folded it, and put it away in his pocket. "I will certainly try to call you. Thank you." He then turned from the girls, heading back to the table where Vergil and Dyne sat. He took a quick look back at the ladies table, to see that they were both getting up to leave. Dyne still stared at him in awe, and Vergil looked quite amused. As Fayze sat down, Dyne blinked.  
  
"How did you do that?"  
  
Fayze smiled with satisfaction. "Hm. . ."  
  
"No, tell me. How did you get them to like you?"  
  
"Dyne, calm down." Vergil laughed. "He's got some charm to him, it seems."  
  
"Not really. . .It's the vampire in me. . .vampires can seduce women more easily than a normal human. I'm sure the immortal blood has something to do with it too though. . ." He looked somewhat embarrassed. "I've always had luck with girls. . .Just never really liked a lot of them much. . ."  
  
Dyne held back a look of disgust. Vampires. . .He really didn't consider Fayze to be a threat, since his vampiric blood was so thin. It was likely that he didn't even need blood. Dyne certainly didn't like vampires, despite his friendship with Fayze. They were demons, like any other; children of darkness; Blood thirsty monsters.  
  
Vergil stood up quite suddenly, adjusting his clothes. "Let's go. I've spent enough time here."  
  
Dyne nodded his agreement, standing as well. He was trying hard to suppress his anger and envy toward Fayze. "After that, I really wanna go home."  
  
Just as they were about to leave, there was a loud racket from near the entrance to the pub. The three turned to the door, seeing one of the men at a table standing up.  
  
"You fuckin' lil queer! What do you think you're doin'?!" The man bellowed.  
  
"I. . .I'm dreadfully sorry, sir. . .I-I meant no quarrel. . .please. It was an accident." A soft, scared voice said from the ground. Whoever it was was blocked from view by the large man standing, but Dyne recognized the voice immediately.  
  
"Seigren?" Dyne grumbled. He slowly came toward the table, getting a look at the person on the ground. There sat Seigren, looking up at the man who towered over him, a frightened look on his face. Blood was dripping from his bottom lip, and it looked like he'd been roughed up a bit. "Hey!" Dyne growled at the man. The guy turned around on Dyne, glaring down at him.  
  
"What you want kid?" the man growled.  
  
"Just what's going on here? Why are you picking on him?" Dyne questioned, his anger rising rapidly. Sure, Seigren was pretty. . .fruity. . .but that didn't give this guy the right to beat him up.  
  
The man shot a look back to Seigren. "This lil' git here just made me look like a fool! He bumped into me and made me spill my drink all over myself, right in front of my woman!" Dyne looked the man over, seeing that his lap was, in fact, damp. He smiled coolly at the man.  
  
"Just leave him alone. He's not worth killing. Look at him."  
  
The man glared angrily at Dyne, then suddenly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. He had his face close enough to Dyne's so that Dyne could smell his rank, booze ridden breath. Dyne just let him hold him there, an unwavering smirk across his face. "What? This lil' queer your boyfriend?" the man laughed.  
  
"Nope. But I'd suggest you put me down, if you know what's good for you."  
  
"That so, eh?"  
  
"Yeah, I've been itching to see how well my bodies working after being poisoned yesterday. You'd make good practice."  
  
The man sneered at Dyne, then chunked him into a nearby wall. Dyne hit the wall, but didn't seem to be affected by the blow. He smirked devilishly up at the man, who frowned. "Is that all you got?"  
  
The man growled at Dyne, then came toward him. Dyne waited patiently, then grabbed the man around his neck. He spun the guy into the wall, slamming him hard against it. The man gasped in surprise, then grabbed at Dyne's hand. Dyne felt a strange pleasure in the fact that he was superior to someone much bigger than himself. He stared into the guy's eyes, his own gleaming brightly with excitement and malice.  
  
"Too bad. . .you're not worth killing." Dyne whispered, so that only the man could hear him. The guy looked terrified, and Dyne watched his eyes fill with dread and horror. This amused him; to make such a hotshot feel so inferior and weak. "Now, apologize to the kid."  
  
The guys eyes shot frantically around the pub, trying to find a friend to help him. All of his pals were sitting at their table, watching the scene silently and in fear of their own lives. "Apologize. . .your buddies aren't going to help you."  
  
The man grunted desperately, trying to get free from Dyne. Dyne just held on more tightly, causing the mans face to become red. "Just say you're sorry, now." Dyne's voice was stern and somewhat cruel, and he just stood there with a harsh look on his face.  
  
"Alright. . .alright. . .I'm. . .sorry. . ." The man finally managed. Dyne dropped him quickly, letting him breath. The guy sat on the ground, gasping for air. His friends quickly got up to assist him.  
  
"Good boy." He turned his attention to Seigren, who was now standing up. "You okay there?"  
  
"Yes. . ." Seigren admitted calmly. "Thanks to you, Dyne. You have my sincerest gratitude."  
  
"No problem." Dyne nodded. "I needed to blow some steam anyways." He felt rather relaxed now, much more than he had before he came into the pub. He sighed, then stared down at Seigren. "What are you doing here anyways?"  
  
"I had come for something to eat. . .I didn't know people like him would be here. I was foolish."  
  
Dyne shrugged. "Well, now you do. You should get out of here, before someone else decides you'd make a good punching bag."  
  
Seigren nodded. "Yes, of course." He began to slink from the tavern, looking somewhat wounded.  
  
"Hey. . ." Vergil called after Seigren. Seigren turned, blinking up at him. "Why don't you come back to our place for a bit? We'll get you cleaned up."  
  
Seigren smiled innocently. "That would be quite appreciated, sir."  
  
Vergil led the group toward the house, feeling extremely tired now. He yawned longly as they reached the apartments, then got everyone inside. He was really hoping for some sleep, now that his mind was more at rest from the alcohol.  
  
Nevia looked up from a book just as the four walked inside. They had been gone for only a few hours, and she was glad that they had come back early. Vergil yawned again, closing the door as the three boys went inside. She noticed Seigren, but didn't address him just yet.  
  
"Enjoy yourselves?" She asked dully. Dyne smirked coldly, feeling quite good about himself. Vergil nodded slowly, blinking some sleep from his eyes.  
  
"Yes, it was quite. . .entertaining." He looked over to Fayze, who, despite his triumph with the ladies, looked rather pale. His eyes seemed hazed some, and he was shivering slightly. "Fayze, are you alright?"  
  
Fayze gave Vergil a weak smile and sighed. "Yes. . .I'm fine. . .I just need some rest. . .I think the alcohol got to me. . ."  
  
Nevia narrowed her eyes at Vergil. "You let him drink?"  
  
Vergil shifted some. "Well, yeah. . .he needed it. . ."  
  
"He's a kid! Don't be giving minors booze, you hear me?!" She scolded. Vergil sighed, rubbing his temples.  
  
"Of course. . .I'm going to try and take a nap, if you don't mind." He then silently strode off to his room, and Fayze rubbed his arm anxiously.  
  
"I think I'll try to sleep too. . .I'm not feeling very well. . ." Fayze stated and began toward his room as well. Nevia and Dyne watched him curiously, feeling that there was definitely something wrong with him. As the bedroom door shut closed, Seigren looked up to Nevia and Dyne.  
  
"Is there something wrong with him?" Seigren asked quietly. Nevia smiled lightly, then noticed Seigren's wounds. Bruises were beginning to develop on his pale face and arms, and his lip was swollen.  
  
"Let me get you fixed up there." Nevia offered. Seigren blushed and smiled nicely, then nodded.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Dyne watched her take him off to the bathroom, feeling somewhat jealous. He wondered if Seigren liked Nevia or something. Nah, that couldn't be. Nevia didn't have taste in guys like that, right? Seigren didn't stand a chance with her, that was, if he was even straight. Dyne suspected that he wasn't. There was no way that a guy like that could be straight. . .he had to be gay. After only a few moments, Nevia and Seigren returned to the living room.  
  
"Not much I could really do for it. . .sorry." Nevia apologized to Seigren.  
  
Seigren shook his head, smiling. His lip was still a little swollen, and the bruises were still visible as well. "It's quite alright; I'll be fine."  
  
Nevia cocked an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure?"  
  
Seigren nodded. "Yes. I'm fine, don't worry." He looked toward the door, then back to Nevia and Dyne. "I really must be going though, I have something I need to attend to. I'm sorry for your inconvenience."  
  
"Nah, don't worry about it. You just be careful out there, okay? Watch out for any brutes." Nevia warned.  
  
"I will. Thank you." Seigren smiled happily before leaving the apartment. "You people are quite nice, really." He stated as he closed the door. Nevia sighed as she heard his steps fade off.  
  
"He's a sweet guy."  
  
Dyne scoffed. "He's gay, I know it."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"Trust me. . .just look at him. He's queerer than a three dollar bill."  
  
Nevia cleared her throat. "ANYWAYS. . .Is Fayze sleeping well?" she asked, returning back to the subject of Fayze, Vergil, and Dyne's behavior. Dyne blinked down at her.  
  
"Well, I think so. He looked fine last night." he shrugged.  
  
Nevia sighed. "There's something wrong with all of you. . .Vergil's been in pretty bad shape lately. Says he can't sleep. . .Fayze is acting rather oddly, compared to when we found him, and you. . .well, I can't tell what's wrong with you."  
  
"What do you mean? What's wrong with me?" Dyne asked, somewhat offended.  
  
"I don't know. . .you seem. . .different somehow. I can't really explain it. You've been like that since last night."  
  
Dyne nodded. She must have been able to sense that Cerbis was weak. Maybe she just didn't know what it was. She probably thought it had to do with the poisoning. "I'm fine. . .no different really." He was certainly not going to tell her what had happened. But for some reason, he felt like he should.  
  
"Well, I hope everyone get to feeling better." Nevia sighed, looking up at the clock. It was already one in the afternoon. "Well, I'm going to read for a while. Why don't you get yourself a book too?"  
  
"Um. . .I really don't like reading. It's one of those things, ya know?" Dyne explained.  
  
Nevia laughed, smiling. "Reading's not so bad. It's enjoyable and relaxing."  
  
"I'd rather play some video games."  
  
"Well, we don't have any, so find something else to amuse yourself with." she picked up her book, flipping to a spot that had been marked. Dyne decided to sit down on the couch, watching her. After about ten minutes, he sighed. Maybe he should tell her about what had happened. . .he suddenly felt the need to tell someone. But why now after hiding it for so long? He debated with himself for another few minutes about the subject, then sighed finally.  
  
"Nev. . ." Dyne grumbled. She looked away from her book and up to him, curiosity lit in her violet eyes.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
". . .Well. . .there is something. . .wrong with me. . ." he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.  
  
Nevia put her book down and stared at him. "What is it?"  
  
Dyne slowly began to explain to her about his dreams. She listened intently, watching him calmly. He then proceeded to tell her about Cerbis. Once he was finished, he sat there, feeling as though a great burden had been lifted from him.  
  
"So, you're having bad dreams and your gauntlets power is drained? That's basically all?" Nevia asked curiously.  
  
"Yes." Dyne nodded bluntly. It sounded to him like she really didn't care. He should have never told her. He should have just kept it to himself.  
  
"Why are you so upset about the dreams? Dreams can't harm you."  
  
Something snapped in Dyne's head. She didn't believe him, he could tell. "Yeah? Well, these ones can! That demon nearly killed Cerbis, and he's trying to take over my mind!" Dyne's eyes flashed red as he stared at Nevia. "I shouldn't have even bothered telling you. . .You stupid wench!" Dyne suddenly stood up, and began to head toward the door. He needed to be alone for a while, or else he might just hurt Nevia. He felt so pissed and upset with her. How could she not believe him? "Here I am, being driven mad by these fucking nightmares, and you couldn't give less of a shit!! You don't even believe me!"  
  
Just as Dyne's hand touched the door knob, he heard Nevia stand up. "Dyne!" Dyne glared back at her, his eyes still burning crimson. She had a hurt look on her face, and was slowly advancing toward him. "I never said that I didn't care. It's just that. . .well, it seems kind of odd to me. I mean, until now, I didn't even know that there was a spirit inside of your gauntlet, let alone the fact that it could communicate with you." She explained. "As for the dreams. . .I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do to help."  
  
Dyne still gazed at her with hate in his eyes. She didn't understand. . .she never would. She wasn't tormented in her sleep by nightmares constantly. The only person that could probably understand his grief was Fayze, but if Dyne had barely told Nevia, there was no way in hell he'd tell Fayze. "I know you can't help me. . ." Dyne grumbled, his anger beginning to turn into embarrassment. He hadn't really had a reason to blow up at her like that, and he could tell that she had been offended. His eyes began to revert to their normal color as he moved away from the door, slowly walking toward Nevia. "I. . .I'm sorry. . ."  
  
As he came closer, Nevia smiled gently. Dyne stopped a few feet from her, gazing down at her. She seemed to hesitate, but hugged him around the chest. Shocked, Dyne only stood there, letting her hug him. "What are you. . ."  
  
"It's alright. . ." Nevia assured. "I can understand that you're upset. I believe you about the dreams though."  
  
"You. . .do?" Dyne felt her hug him more tightly, almost in a nurturing way.  
  
"Yes. . .of course I believe you. Why would you lie about something like that?" She rested her head on his chest, and he finally held her back, very carefully.  
  
"Thanks. I'm glad."  
  
Nevia let him go finally, pulling away from him. She looked up into his face, which was now much calmer and placid than before. "You should really watch that temper of yours though. It's going to get you into trouble one day."  
  
Dyne gave her a weak, thin smile and closed his eyes. Why did he always get so upset sometimes? Numerous times when he was younger, he had hurt Tye in his fits, but he had never meant to do any major harm. "I. . .can't help it. . .It's not like I mean to act like that."  
  
Nevia cocked an eye brow at Dyne. "Everyone is responsible for their actions and behavior. You've just got to learn to control yourself."  
  
"I'll try. . .from now on." Dyne sighed, opening his eyes and looking off toward his room. "Maybe I should try to get some rest. It'll calm me down some, I suppose."  
  
Nevia shrugged. "You might as well. Everyone else is sleeping."  
  
Dyne nodded and slowly began down the hall. "I'll see you later then."  
  
As Nevia watched him go, she felt somewhat relieved. Dyne's anger was not something to be reckoned with, and she had just stood in its wake as it passed. She began to shiver slightly, feeling somewhat frightened. She didn't remember him being this wicked when she had first met him. He had started choking his brother, from her recollection, but he didn't seem. . .that bad.  
  
"I've got to watch out for him. . ." She thought as she watched Dyne step into his room. He shut the door, but suddenly came back out again.  
  
"Where's Fayze?" Dyne asked.  
  
Nevia blinked. "What do you mean? He's in the room." As Dyne shook his head, Nevia came down the hall and into the spare bedroom.  
  
She immediately looked to Fayze's bed, which was empty. The sheets were scattered around on the bed, and some were on the ground. The lamp that was usually on the bed side table was turned over onto the bed.  
  
"What happened?" Nevia asked Dyne.  
  
He shrugged. "I don't know." Both began to search the room with their eyes, seeing that one of the windows to the room was opened.  
  
"Oh, no. . ." Nevia breathed as she dashed to the window. She stuck her head out, looking down to the ground below. There was no sign of Fayze, or anyone else for that matter. "Oh god. . .what if the faction came and took him?!"  
  
Dyne seemed to become a bit anxious now, and came to the window as well. "We'd better start searching for him, quickly."  
  
Nevia nodded, and ran from the room. Dyne heard her beating at a door. "Vergil! Get up! Fayze is missing!!"  
  
"What?!" Dyne heard Vergil roar from inside his room. It appeared that he was not the type to enjoy being awakened with bad news. As Dyne began to leave the room, he saw Vergil's door swing open, and Vergil popped his head out, an almost frightened look on his face. He was wearing a pair of blue denim pants and an black muscle shirt, but his feet were bare. His hair was a mess, and he began to comb through it with his fingers. The look on his face slowly changed to something more along the lines of displeased. "What did you say?" He asked again gruffly.  
  
"Fayze is missing." Nevia repeated, seeming to ignore his mood. "We've got to find him!"  
  
Vergil blinked with alarm, then ran back into his room, shutting his door behind him. Dyne and Nevia both could hear him rummaging around, and would hear a grunt every now and then. He finally came back out, his hair combed back much more nicely than before. He was dressed in a black shirt and jacket, with the same blue jeans as before, tucked into a pair of black, mid calf boots.  
  
"Go!" He growled, nudging at Dyne and Nevia. He seemed a bit crabby, probably just from the lack of sleep. Dyne held back a smile as they all three left the apartment, trying not to upset Vergil any further. There was no telling how Vergil was when he was angry; Dyne still had not seen him anything more than slightly annoyed. He reminded Dyne of Dante, in quite a lot of ways.  
  
"Blast it, where is that kid?" Vergil growled as they came up to an old train station. Too much further out of town and they'd be entering demon territory; the area outside of town where the devils were said to be roaming freely. Vergil, Dyne, and Nevia all agreed that it was highly doubtful that Fayze would wonder that far from the apartments, knowing that the demons were out there. Vergil sighed as he slowly went into the station. "If he's not here, then we'll have no choice but to turn around and look all over again. . ."  
  
Dyne and Nevia were standing outside of the station, scouting out the surrounding area. A short ways off, the wails and cries of random demons could be heard. Dyne scanned the area, not seeing anyone. He leaned up against the wall of a small, abandoned home that stood next to the station.  
  
"Damn it, this is pointless!" He growled, smashing his hand into a window next to him angrily. Nevia was shocked by the sudden crash, and gazed at him in alarm. His hand was stuck through the flimsy glass, and he winced lightly, small shards of glass stuck into his fist. "Damn it. . ."  
  
"Dyne, you idiot! Are you trying to attract attention?!" Nevia hissed. "What if one of these demons hear you?!"  
  
Dyne looked around sheepishly, feeling rather stupid for hurting himself. He pulled his hand out of the window slowly, and began to carefully remove some of the pieces of glass. "I didn't think it was that weak of a window. . ."  
  
As he finished removing the shards of glass, Vergil came out from the station. He stared at Dyne in alarm, seeing his bloody, cut up hand. "What happened?"  
  
"Dyne was being an impatient idiot and smashed his hand through a window." Nevia explained, pointing toward the broken window pane. "He managed to hurt himself in the process."  
  
Vergil sighed, pressing his fingers gently into his temples. "Well, I looked around, but there was no sign of Fayze anywhere. . ." He took deep breath, then shrugged. "I suppose we'll have to go back into town and hope we can find him. Who knows, maybe he went back to the apartment?"  
  
"That's a good possibility. . ." Nevia agreed. "Someone should go back and check, while the other two continue to search the town."  
  
Dyne coddled his hand, then sighed. "I'll go back. . .Besides, I need to get this cleaned up." Dyne volunteered. Nevia and Vergil nodded their agreement, then Nevia moved closer to the injured young man and took his hand gently as they started walking back into town.  
  
The glass had managed to bury itself deep into his hand, but he had gotten it all out. Blood was seeping out pretty badly from the cuts, and Nevia figured that his healing capabilities were still stunted from the poisoning. "You just get home and wrap that up. We'll continue looking for Fayze alone."  
  
Dyne was somewhat hesitant, but nodded. "Alright."  
  
"And be sure to get home quickly, before any of those griffites see you." Nevia cautioned. Dyne smirked lightly, not really worried about the faction right now.  
  
"I'll be fine, don't worry. . ." With that, he dashed off ahead of Nevia and Vergil, charging on toward the apartment. After a few moments, he was jumping up the stairs to the room.  
  
As he turned the doorknob, a feeling of dread washed over him. He could sense that someone was in the apartment, someone or something that was sending off an evil aura. Knowing that he had left his guns in his room before they had left, Dyne took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then pushed the door open slowly, immediately scanning the living room. There didn't seem to be anyone around, but Dyne knew better than that. He crept inside and shut the door quietly, then began to sneak around, in search of the source of this wicked energy.  
  
It was dark, and small slits of light beamed across his face. He could hear someone coming, and could smell something. Something that tingled his senses and made him become alert.  
  
"Blood. . ." He thought. "I smell it. . .I. . .I want it. . ." The small beams of light suddenly disappeared as a person blocked the source of light. He could smell the scent of the blood quite strongly as they passed on, going down the hall. He waited until they went off through a door at the end of the hall, then slowly crept from his hiding place. He chuckled very lightly, as to not spoil his surprise. The fool had left the door wide open behind him, perfect for an ambush. He came from behind the man, who turned at the last second; too late to do anything.  
  
"FAYZE!!" Dyne cried out as Fayze tackled him. They both fell to the floor of the spare bedroom, Dyne struggling to keep Fayze from him. He seemed determined to get his head close to Dyne's neck. Dyne pushed at him and tried his best to keep him back.  
  
"Oh shit, oh shit. . . He's trying to bite me!!" Dyne thought in a panic. He stared into Fayze's eyes, fear running through him. Fayze was glaring down at him, his usually vivid lavender colored eyes a dark crimson. His teeth were bared, giving full view to his sharp, white, vampirical fangs. Dyne let out a loud, infuriated yell, feeling completely helpless and weak under Fayze. The kid seemed pretty scrawny and weak, but not now; now his grip was tighter than Dyne could have ever imagined. Dyne could tell he wouldn't be able to keep him at bay much longer.  
  
"Fayze!! Let me go!!" Dyne growled loudly. Fayze's only reply was a sharp hiss, and he then grabbed at Dyne's arm, which was trying to block Fayze's head from his own. His strength was wretched, and he tore Dyne's hand from him, then arched forward, digging his fangs into the soft flesh of Dyne's neck.  
  
Dyne cried out in pain, feeling the sharp sting of Fayze's canines. He tried desperately to get Fayze off, but the pain suddenly began to subside into a gentle, almost enjoyable feeling. "F-Fayze. . ." Dyne groaned, his arms becoming tired from the struggle. He still hadn't recovered completely from the poison, and his strength was not what it usually was. He panted heavily as Fayze held him down onto the floor, his teeth sunk into the side of his neck. "F-Fayze. . .get off me. . .you freak!"  
  
Fayze made a deep, low growl, something Dyne had never expected to hear uttered from Fayze with his smooth, young voice. Dyne could feel that he was drinking his blood, slowly draining it from his neck. Dyne let out a small grunt, now getting quite angry. However, there was nothing he could do about it; his body was too weak against Fayze, and he couldn't will his body to try and fight him. Dyne had thought Fayze was a decent guy, but now here he was, a craved, demonic monster, killing him. It figured. . .Dyne knew you should never trust a vampire, no matter what. He had thought that it would be alright with Fayze, since he was only a quarter. He'd apparently been wrong. . .very wrong.  
  
The feeling of this wasn't too unpleasant, which is especially what made Dyne uncomfortable about it. He was almost enjoying honestly, and he certainly wasn't in any mood to be liking it. He grunted softly again, then tried to bring a hand up against Fayze's face. Fayze snatched his arm, pinning it back to the floor.  
  
"Fayze. . .please. . ." Dyne groaned. He was now becoming lightheaded, and his vision was starting to swim. He knew that soon he'd pass out, and Fayze would finish him off, leaving him on the floor dead. "And to think I trusted you. . ."  
  
Fayze stopped for a moment, seeming to hesitate at Dyne's words. He groaned sharply, then continued. Dyne was embarrassed about this. "Great, I'm gonna die here, with some guy on top of me, sucking my blood from my neck. Wonderful. . ."  
  
Just then, there was a loud gasp, and a yelp, and Fayze brought his head away from Dyne, glaring and hissing at whoever had come into the room. Dyne couldn't turn around, because Fayze was still straddling him. Figuring he was saved, Dyne closed his eyes, feeling rather fatigued.  
  
"Oh my God! Fayze!!" Nevia's voice cried.  
  
"I've got him." Vergil said calmly, and Dyne could hear his boots clattering toward him and Fayze. Fayze narrowed his eyes at Vergil, hissing loudly. He suddenly lunged from Dyne's body, coming at Vergil. Vergil stepped lightly to the side, grabbing Fayze around the back of his neck as he came by. He quickly smashed the boys body into the floor, holding him there. The vampire began to hiss and growl violently, flailing his arms and legs. Fayze may have been stronger than the weakened Dyne, but he was in no way stronger than Vergil. Vergil had him securely, and there was pretty much no way the boy was getting away.  
  
"Knock him out! Knock him out Vergil!" Nevia cried. Vergil nodded quickly, bringing one hand down onto the back of Fayze's head with great force. Fayze let out one quick growl of pain, then lay motionless. After Vergil was sure that he was out cold, he stood up and moved away from the boy, sighing deeply. Nevia immediately ran to Dyne's side, pulling his head up into her arms. His neck was covered in blood, around the area where he had been bitten. "Dyne, Dyne!" He made no reply, just laid there, his eyes closed. "Dyne! Answer me, please!" Tears began to fill Nevia's eyes, in fear that he was not going to be alright. "Not again. . .Dyne, wake up!" She cried, her voice breaking sharply at this point.  
  
Dyne let out a small groan, his eyes barely opening to slits. "Calm down. . .I'm alright. . ." He groaned, looking up at Nevia's upset and teary face. He carefully rubbed his neck, which was soar from the attack. He was surprised, however, when he felt that the wound was healed. Nevia hugged his head into her chest gently, sobbing lightly. "N-Nev?"  
  
"God. . .you've got to stop doing that!" She cried, choking some. "I swear, one day you aren't going to be alright!"  
  
"Hey, you think I wanted to get attacked?!" Dyne snapped, groaning soon afterward. His head was spinning from the lose of blood, and he glared over to where Fayze was laid unconscious on the ground. "That fucking bastard. . .I came inside and he snuck up and ambushed me!" Dyne tried to get up, but Nevia wouldn't let him. She held him to her body, keeping him from moving. "Let me go! I'm gonna kill him!" Dyne growled, trying to get up again. Nevia kept her grip.  
  
"Dyne, calm down. . ." She warned.  
  
Vergil looked down at Dyne, whose face was full of wrath. He was staring at Fayze, his eyes gleaming a crimson color. "Dyne." Vergil called in a stern voice that would have made a mad dog cow down in fear. Dyne stopped trying to free himself and glared up at Vergil, his eyes slowly dimming back to their cool blue. "Calm down, before I make you. You got that?"  
  
Dyne sighed deeply, then nodded weakly. Vergil's voice seemed to have the same effect on Dyne as Dante's did; it was a powerful voice of order. However, that didn't keep Dyne from wanting to kill Fayze right now. "But he was going to kill me! What are you going to do about that!? We can't let him run loose, that's for sure!" Dyne remembered when they had first found Fayze, Vergil had warned him that he might be dangerous. Looked like he was right. "We should kill him! Kill him before he kills someone else!"  
  
"Dyne, calm down." Nevia repeated. She let him loose some, letting him sit up.  
  
"I'm quite aware that we can't just let him run amuck. But I don't think he even knows what he's done." Vergil explained, moving over to Fayze and bending down over him. "I think we should talk to him before we go on killing him over it."  
  
Dyne growled his dissatisfaction, glaring down at Fayze again. "Give him a chance!? Look what he did to me! He's a monster!!"  
  
"Dyne!" Nevia spat, watching him. "How dare you call him that! He's a kid! And you're part demon yourself you know!"  
  
Dyne scoffed. "Well, I'm not running around sucking blood off of my supposed friends!" He rubbed his neck lightly, feeling extremely pissed and embarrassed at the same time. He just hoped no one noticed that he wasn't actually being caused any pain. He felt ashamed of the fact that it had felt. . .pleasant. "I feel like a homo. . ." He thought.  
  
Vergil sighed, either not noticing the mood Dyne was in or choosing to ignore it. "Look, I'm going to get Fayze and when he wakes up, we'll start interrogating him. Nevia, you take care of Dyne, get his hand cleaned and bandaged and get him to take a bath. . .He needs it anyways."  
  
Nevia nodded, helping Dyne to his feet. Dyne was still glaring down at Fayze, but chose to stay calm and not attack him.  
  
Vergil carefully picked Fayze up into his arms, then put him over his shoulder. "We'll see what he has to say when he gets up." 


	11. Let's watch Nev yell at Dyne again! jk

Something I repeatedly forget to put on this damn thing. . .a disclaimer. . .So, here it goes.  
  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own Devil May Cry or it's characters and monsters. If I did, the second game would have been a smash hit, and it wasn't, now was it? Not only that, but I'd make a bad ass fighting game like Capcom Smash Bros. and it would be tight. Capcom owns Dante and the whole damn series, but Dyne, Tye, Fayze, Kaos, Nevia, Cerbis, Seigren, (holy CRAP, that's a lot of OC's. . .) and the human baddies are all mine, along with Verg's personality. I'm just saying this in hopes that Capcom isn't such an ass as to sue me, because they'd waste more money then they'd even get in the process by doing it. Trust me Capcom, I have nothing you want, so don't waste yours or my time by trying to sue me; I'm not worth your while, okay?  
  
I hate disclaimers, not because I enjoy chancing getting sued, but because I always forget the blurdy things. Now, with it over and done with, here's the chapter.  
  
Chapter 11  
  
Fayze groaned slightly as he stirred awake, his head bobbing on his chest for a moment before he raised it up and looked before him to see Vergil sitting on the couch in front of him. The coffee table was moved over, so that Fayze was sitting in the middle of the living room, between the couch and the TV.  
  
"V-Vergil?" Fayze groaned, the back of his head aching with a dull pain. "Vergil. . ." As Fayze tried to move his hand up to his head to rub the back of his neck, he found that his arm wouldn't move. He tried again, but to no avail. As he looked down, he saw that his body was bound to a chair with thick rope. He tried to pull free from his bondage, but the rope wouldn't give. "Hey! What's going on here?!" Fayze asked, becoming somewhat nervous.  
  
"Fayze, do you remember what you did?" Vergil asked calmly, just sitting on the couch. Fayze stared at him for a moment before shaking his head.  
  
"No. . .I don't. Look, untie me! Why am I tied up anyways?" Vergil's question sunk further into Fayze's head, and Fayze became very quiet. Had he done something wrong? "Vergil. . .What happened?"  
  
"Well," Vergil began, sitting back comfortably before he began. "Dyne went into your room earlier, and you were missing. So, we started looking for you all over town. Dyne managed to hurt himself in the process, and he ran home before us. We were going to keep looking for you while Dyne was away, but when we walked past the apartments we heard something going on inside."  
  
"W-what happened?" Fayze repeated, his mouth becoming dry and his voice quiet. Vergil watched him carefully, seeing how confused he appeared.  
  
"You attacked Dyne." Vergil put bluntly. He said it so quickly that it took Fayze a moment to grasp the statement.  
  
"What? Attacked him?" Fayze wanted to make sure he had heard Vergil right. His face became much paler than usual when Vergil nodded.  
  
"I'm sure Dyne would like to tell you about it, but before he comes out here and starts screaming accusations and curses to you, I figured I should tell you something of what happened."  
  
Fayze blinked and began to jabber hurriedly. "Dyne's okay though? Is he going to be alright?! How bad did I hurt him?"  
  
"Woah, slow down there." Vergil cautioned, putting his hands up some. "Dyne's fine; he should be at least. He's lucky we heard the racket when we did though. You might have drained him."  
  
"Drained. . .him? What are you talking about?"  
  
Vergil could see that the kid was utterly confused. "Fayze, you do know that you're part vampire, right?"  
  
"Well, of course I know that, but. . ." he trailed off slowly, his voice becoming quiet again. "Oh. . .oh no. . .I didn't. . .I didn't bite him. . .did I?" Fayze winced and gave out a tiny hiss of embarrassment as Vergil nodded gently. "Oh god. . .Why did I?"  
  
"Not a clue, but we figured you would know."  
  
Fayze stared at Vergil with uncertainty for a moment. "Vergil, I don't even need blood! I'm only a quarter!"  
  
"Well, tell that to Dyne when he gets out here. You should have seen yourself kid; you were quite a vicious little fiend."  
  
Fayze dropped his head back to his chest, feeling tears stinging at his eyes. He was more puzzled than anyone about this incident; why would he do that?  
  
"I'm sorry. . .I'm so, so sorry." Fayze said softly, keeping his voice above the breaking point. Vergil leaned forward from the couch, trying to get a good look at the boy's face. He took Fayze by the chin and lifted his head gently, seeing a few tears stream down his face. "Vergil, will Dyne forgive me? I swear I don't know what happened!"  
  
Vergil hesitated to answer. It was likely that, with Dyne's temper and stubbornness, he wouldn't be able to bring himself to accept an apology. Vergil gave Fayze a nervous smile. "We'll just have to see."  
  
There was a loud commotion from down the hall, and Fayze looked beyond the couch, seeing the bathroom door fly open.  
  
"I'm fine, damn it! Just let me-Damn it! Stop! Let me GO!" Dyne's voice growled furiously. Fayze saw him appear from inside, his hand wrapped partially in gauze wrap and his hair damp, as if he had just taken a bath recently.  
  
"Dyne, no! Get back in here! I'm not through with it! Just one more wrap!" Nevia pleaded, pulling at his uninjured hand.  
  
"Fuck it! It'll heal, just let me go, damn it! I wanna-"Dyne was interrupted as Nevia grabbed his arm, trying to drag him back inside of the bathroom. "Damnable woman! Let me go!"  
  
"No." Nevia said sharply, getting in front of him and pushing him swiftly into the bathroom. "Now, get in there!" She shot a look over to Vergil and Fayze, a look that told them that Dyne was not happy. As she shut the door behind her, Vergil and Fayze could hear her yelling at Dyne. "And don't you EVER call me that again or I'm going to personally castrate you! You got that!?"  
  
Vergil couldn't help but grin thinly at the sound of Nevia's furious voice. He and Fayze sat very quietly, neither saying a word to the other.  
  
Finally, the door to the bathroom swung open, and Nevia came backing out, staring into the bathroom. "You stay in here for a second, you got that? If you come out, you'll wish Fayze HAD killed you, because the way I'm gonna do it is NOT going to be pretty!"  
  
"Yes ma'am. . ." Dyne grumbled from inside the bathroom, and Nevia slammed the door shut, coming out into the living room. She stood at the side of the couch, one hand on her hip, and shook her head.  
  
"Well, I got him a little bit calmed down, but he's still pretty pissed." Nevia explained, looking at Fayze. "He really wants to kill you."  
  
Fayze groaned miserably. "I'm sure. . .If what Vergil tells me is true."  
  
Nevia nodded. "It is. Dyne says you were completely ape-shit."  
  
"Please, don't let him kill me yet. I want to try and reason with him first." Vergil looked at Fayze with a cocked eyebrow. The kid seemed to be taking this well, which was odd, seeing as how he was on the verge of being killed. "Perhaps I could earn my keep. . .but I'm sure Dyne's in no mood to listen to me. After what I did, I can't blame him for wanting me dead though. . ."  
  
Nevia frowned at Fayze, feeling rather apologetic towards him. Vergil felt the same way; the kid didn't even know what he had done, yet he was going to be punished for it. The look on Fayze's face was quite heartrending, and he just sat there, his eyes gazing downward motionlessly, as if just waiting for his doom.  
  
"Fayze," Nevia began quietly. "We could untie you, and you could get away from here. That way, maybe Dyne can't hurt you."  
  
"It's alright. I'll deserve whatever he does." Fayze said solemnly.  
  
"Fayze, we're not going to let him kill you." Vergil explained. "I'll see to it that he doesn't, no matter how much he wants to."  
  
Fayze smiled weakly. "Thank you. . ."  
  
Just then, Dyne came from the bathroom, his face filled with anger and hate. He began down the hall, just as Nevia turned to face him.  
  
"I thought I told you to stay in there!" Nevia growled, her hands still on her hips. Dyne looked up at her coolly, and then shrugged.  
  
"I got tired of waiting." he stated, coming behind the couch. He glared in front of him at Fayze. "Did you enjoy yourself, you little bastard?"  
  
Fayze took a deep breath and sighed, gazing up at Dyne. "I'm sorry Dyne. I can't even remember it. I'm sorry if I hurt you." Fayze apologized in a soft voice.  
  
"Oh, I'm not hurt too badly." Dyne said in a sarcastic, airy tone. You just drank about three fifths of my blood!" This time, his voice was a loud growl, and his eyes flashed crimson straight at Fayze. Fayze lowered his vision away from Dyne, staring down at the floor.  
  
"Dyne, leave him alone for a moment and let him explain." Vergil said. Dyne shot Vergil a glance, then switched back to Fayze again.  
  
"Fine, hurry up and talk then."  
  
"Dyne, I swear, I can't remember it! Please, understand. The last thing I remember, I was in bed, going to sleep! You have to believe me!" Fayze tried to explain.  
  
"Why should I take the word of a blood sucking freak like you?!" Dyne growled viciously, clenching his fists. He was about to materialize Cerbis when Nevia's piercing glare made him think otherwise. Dyne sighed, beginning to calm down significantly. He slowly began to regret his words. "I'm. . .I'm sorry. I'm. . .overreacting a bit over this."  
  
"No shit." Nevia agreed, still glaring at Dyne. Dyne uncomfortably rubbed his arm, drawing a deep breath.  
  
"I'll probably pay for it later. . .But let him go. I'm not gonna kill him. . ." Dyne sighed, rubbing his temples. Fayze blinked with surprise.  
  
"What?"  
  
"That's right. I'll let you go, but if you EVER try that again. . .You'll wish God had struck you down."  
  
Fayze smiled weakly as Vergil stood and began undoing the ropes that bound him. "I appreciate this."  
  
"You'd better. You're lucky I'm in a considerate mood." Dyne said bitterly. "I don't forgive you though."  
  
"I never expected you to." Fayze admitted. He stood up as Vergil finished undoing the rope, and shook his head. "If you like, I could leave."  
  
Dyne scoffed at his statement. "Yeah, right. And just where would you go?"  
  
Fayze frowned. "I wish I could just go home. . .I want to see my father and ask him what could be wrong with me. He'd probably know. Unfortunately, I really can't leave now."  
  
"Why not? How'd you get here anyways?" Nevia asked curiously.  
  
"I drove." Fayze explained. "But when those guys caught me, they stole my bike. Now I don't know where it is."  
  
"Hm. . ." Was all that Vergil could say. He looked up at the clock, which read 5:20. "Don't worry about it Fayze. You can stay here; we're not going to kick you out."  
  
Fayze smiled. "Thank you."  
  
Vergil turned his attention to Dyne, whose face was rather pale from lose of blood. "I'd suggest you get some rest."  
  
Dyne nodded reluctantly, turning away and stalking back to his room. He sighed and threw himself down onto his bed, making his head throb in pain as he did so.  
  
"Damn it. . .Fayze. . ." He growled, closing his eyes.  
  
Dante pushed the door to the Devil May Cry open, pocketing his keys. The place was deserted, just as he had expected it to be. He knew Dyne probably wouldn't be home for a few more days. At least the little guy who'd given Dante the info for Dyne had paid him in advance. He could go get groceries later.  
  
Dante wiped some sweat off his brow, sighing with relief. His mission had been grueling, and he could definitely use some rest. He undid the holster that held Ivory and Ebony, laying it haphazardly onto his desktop. He then took Sparda from his back, stabbing it into the floor behind the table as he flopped down into the chair behind the desk. He dug through his pockets and pulled out a large wad of cash, laying it down next to his guns.  
  
Just as Dante closed his eyes, the phone rang. "Damn it. . ." He grumbled, bringing his foot up to the phone and tapping the speakerphone button. "Devil May Cry."  
  
"Dante? That you?" A smooth man's voice asked. The voice was rather familiar, but Dante couldn't place where he'd heard it.  
  
"Yeah, this is him. Who's this?" Dante asked, stretching back.  
  
"It's Kaos Shelting. I'm not sure if you remember me though. . .We met quite some time ago." The man explained.  
  
Dante remembered him all too well. They had become acquaintances back when Dante had met Schala. He had been an enemy, but he had decided to become an ally. Dante wasn't sure if he could trust him though; he was half devil, half vampire. It was hard for him to trust someone like that. "Yeah, it's been a while. I remember you though."  
  
"Good." Kaos said. "Listen, I was wondering. . .I could use your help with something."  
  
Great, so the guy hadn't said a word to him for over 20 years, and now he suddenly wanted a favor? "What is it?"  
  
"There's this place I've been hearing about. . .A town actually. There's been some weird stuff going on, and—"  
  
"Wait. . .a town?" Dante interrupted. Kaos stopped for a moment, then drew a breath and continued.  
  
"Yes. You see, my son went there. . .and I'm worried about him. I know something's wrong."  
  
"Wait, is it. . ." Dante began to fumble through his pockets, finding a small piece of scrap paper with some notes written on it. "Daenon?"  
  
"Yeah." Kaos confirmed, sounding curious. "How did you know?"  
  
"My son's out there too." Dante explained. "He's on a job."  
  
Kaos made a slight hiss. "I'd get him out, if I were you. I've got a bad feeling about it."  
  
"Hold on, I'll give him a call." Just as Dante was about to switch over to the other line, he noticed the answering machine light was blinking. "Huh. . .I've got a message."  
  
"Okay. . ." Kaos said. Dante pressed the play button and listened.  
  
"You have. . .one message." The automated woman told Dante as the message began to run. Next, he heard Dyne's voice.  
  
"Hey dad, it's Dyne." Dyne's voice began. Dante was relived to hear from him, and sat back to listen. "Look, some really weird shit's going on over here, so I was hoping you could get here A.S.A.P. Can't call me, my cells busted," Dante rolled his eyes; he'd just bought him that damn thing too. He wondered what was wrong that he'd need him to come there. "but you know where I'm at, so—"  
  
Just then, Dante heard Dyne let out a loud yell, then something that sounded like the phone clanking loudly into something. There was another voice now, obviously distanced from the phone.  
  
"Get him! Don't let him get away!" a man yelled. Dante heard Dyne swear at the man, then yell some more.  
  
"Get off me!" Then there was a loud racket and a crash. There were more people yelling and Dyne as well. The tape continued to run, Dante being able to hear the entire fight between Dyne and what sounded like at least five, maybe more guys. Dante heard the shotgun blast, and could hear Dyne and someone else being attacked. Then, there was a cool voice; they sounded so familiar.  
  
Dante stopped the tape then, sitting back and putting one hand to his temples anxiously.  
  
"Dante?" Kaos asked in a quiet voice. Dante had completely forgotten that he was on the other line. "What was that?"  
  
Dante sighed. "Dyne's in trouble. . ." He finally said. Kaos was silent for some time before speaking.  
  
"Hold on, I'm coming over there."  
  
"What? Why?" Dante asked. What the hell was he going to do?  
  
"My son's out there too, Dante! If you're going, then I'll come along."  
  
Dante didn't have much of a choice. He sighed. "Alright. . .How long is it going to take you to get out here?"  
  
"Not long. I'm in Berail. Give me two hours."  
  
"Okay. Hurry over. I'll be waiting."  
  
Short, boring, I know. (five and a half pages and I'm saying that's short??) Give me a few chapters. . .There'll be a lot more excitement going on soon. Well, a lot more than there is now, anyways. It's going be a bit before I get chapter 12 up, because it's going be another long one. (groans) I can see another 14 or 16 pager coming. . . You should know by now that I love reviews, but if I honestly cared that much about it, I'd have stopped writing around chapter 3 of this story. I don't care about the popularity, I just love writing. However, reviews do help me feel better about it, so if you don't mind being bothered by it, please, think of it as a donation to my self esteem. And, if you put your email down, I'll send you a picie or two of Dyne or something. . .Even though my flash drawing work sucks major ass. . .Busta, don't say a word! (I know you like it, but I don't) 


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry it took so long to get this up, I had some writers block. . .and it's long. (shrugs) I couldn't help it. I'm sorry to those that can't sit through these long ass things. If you don't mind, then please, enjoy!  
  
Chapter 12  
  
Nevia sat in the kitchen, looking at a small map of the town. She was marking off areas with a red sharpie; areas that they had searched. Even though they hadn't mentioned anything to Dyne and Fayze about it, she and Vergil had been trying to find the griffites base for some days now. Nevia knew they had one; they had to have one. How else could they be able to hide and organize attacks?  
  
"Not that they're the most orderly of attacks. . ." Nevia thought smugly to herself. She looked near the top of the map, where the area was marked off for monsters. It could be likely that the faction had their base on the outskirts of town, where the demons roamed. That would be logical; no one could get near it that way, at least no humans.  
  
Nevia stood up from the table, considering that she should share her information with Vergil. She came into the living room, where he was just beginning to doze off on the couch.  
  
"Hey, Verg?" Nevia called quietly. He groggily looked up at her, then smiled.  
  
"Yeah?" Nevia explained to him where she thought the griffites base might be, then watched him for a moment. He yawned, then shrugged lightly. "Perhaps. . .I'll go investigate it in the morning. I'm too tired right now."  
  
"Well, I didn't say go out right now, did I? You get some rest." Nevia messed up his hair, and moved back from the sofa as he stood and stretched.  
  
"Thanks." He smiled, slowly going off to his room. Nevia decided to flop herself down onto the sofa, stretching out quite comfortably. It was eight thirty now, and Dyne and Fayze had already gone off to bed. Now with Vergil gone, Nevia didn't have anyone to talk to.  
  
Just then, there was the sound of a door opening, but Nevia had the sounds of each door within the apartment memorized into her mind. It wasn't Vergil's, but rather Dyne's and Fayze's. So, at least one of them was up. She poked her head over the top of the couch, seeing Fayze coming noiselessly down the hall.  
  
"Hey Fayze." Nevia greeted. "What are you doing up?"  
  
"Oh, just wanted a drink." Fayze explained, silently sliding into the kitchen. Nevia listened for him for a moment, until he came into the living room with a glass of water. He had managed to be perfectly silent, which somewhat worried Nevia. "Besides, I'm really not that tired right now. I was thinking about sitting out here and watching some TV.  
  
Nevia shrugged and moved over some, giving him plenty of room to sit if he liked. Fayze obliged, taking a seat next to Nevia. "Thanks. I just hope that you aren't going to be afraid of me."  
  
Nevia smiled. She wasn't afraid of him, she just wasn't used to someone being able to move so stealthily, when they weren't trying to be. "Nah, whatever happened to you this afternoon was scary, but I believe you that you didn't know what you were doing."  
  
Fayze sighed. "Thanks. Only you and Vergil seem to forgive me. Dyne won't say much to me. . ."  
  
"Ah, give him a while. He'll forget about it." Nevia took up the remote control, surfing through channels quickly until she stopped on a nature show about creatures of the night. "Ironic. . ." Nevia grumbled, flipping past that channel. She finally chose to just stop on a cartoon channel. "I don't really watch cartoons, but it's the best thing on right now. . .Unless you'd rather watch a show about night animals."  
  
"I'll pass to the cartoons, thank you." Fayze laughed, sinking into the couch. He watched the television lazily, seeing a small yellow, rat like cartoon creature blast two guys with lightening, sending them flying into the sky and disappear as a tiny star. "Oh, come on. How the hell did that thing manage to zap them so hard, that they flew like that? When you get hit by lightening, that doesn't happen." Fayze complained calmly.  
  
"It's a little kids show, come on. Kids don't know that. They just think it's funny." Nevia explained. "Haven't you ever watched this before?"  
  
"Nope. I don't watch TV back home. I just use the thing for games." Fayze admitted, continuing to watch this childish cartoon. A young man had a small ball in his hand, and chunked it. The ball opened up and a large red dragon beast appeared from within the ball. "Okay, what the hell? How'd he fit that dragon into that thing?! And that kid doesn't exactly look like a dragon master. He's gonna get his head bit off."  
  
Sure enough, as the boy started spouting commands, the dragon turned on him, blasting him with a spout of fire. The boys face was now charred and black, and Fayze snickered and began laughing aloud.  
  
"It's not that funny, Fayze." Nevia said, cocking an eyebrow at him. He seemed extremely entertained.  
  
"I'm sorry! It's just, that kid should have known better! I mean, that's not how you go about commanding a dragon. You don't yell 'Charizard, flamethrower attack, go!' It doesn't work like that. No dragon is gonna respect its master if they think they're gonna command it with such stupid orders."  
  
"How would you know that?"  
  
"My father told me that he and Merin saw one when they were younger. It belonged to a dragoneer, and he told them all about raising and using dragons." Fayze explained. "This is ridiculous though! And why the hell are all the animals just saying their names? That stupid yellow mouse on his shoulder keeps saying 'pika pi' and 'pi pi'. I'm not sure if it's just got a potty mouth, or if it's trying to talk."  
  
"It's just a cartoon. It's not real." Nevia told him. "Chill out about it."  
  
Fayze sighed, continuing to watch this brainless show. Who in their right mind would allow their children to watch it was beyond him, but it had to be one of the stupidest things he'd ever seen. Why make the poor little animals fight like that? And why did some of them look so. . .bizarre?  
  
"I think someone was on crack when they made this show. You'd have to be very easily amused, or high to laugh at this." Fayze laughed.  
  
"Well, you seem to be enjoying it." Nevia said. Her voice became sarcastic as she smiled at Fayze. "Fayze, are you. . .high?"  
  
Fayze smiled sheepishly, then gave a light laugh. "I'm not laughing because it's humorous. I'm laughing because it's so stupid!"  
  
"That it is." Nevia agreed, picking up the remote and flipping around again. She stopped on the nature channel once more. "Oh look, it's your relatives, the vampire bat!" Nevia said in a mocking voice. "Quick, what are they saying?" She asked, as many of the bats began to squeak.  
  
"That's not very nice. . ." Fayze said, somewhat offended, even though he could understand the animals for some reason. However, he was a good sport about it and smiled. "They said, 'Oh hey, look! Some nice, sweet virgin girls! Quick, let's go have a drink and get wasted!'" He joked.  
  
Nevia chuckled lightly, shaking her head. She tossed the remote over to him. "Here, have at it. I'm going to the bathroom." Fayze nodded and began surfing as Nevia stood up and headed off to the bathroom.  
  
Fayze sighed. It seemed that even with satellite, there wasn't anything worth watching. He clicked and clicked through the channels, his thumb becoming quite fatigued in the process. Too bad he was too ignorant to know that the damn thing had a guide.  
  
"Oh." Fayze was surprised, stopping on a channel. "Holy crap, a game channel? Cool!" Just what he needed; a channel with game reviews and previews. He lay back contently now, slowly nodding off as he watched the television. "I could get to like this."  
  
Nevia flicked off the light switch and opened the bathroom door quietly, as to not disturb anyone. As she shut the door, she could hear something from Dyne's room. "What the hell?"  
  
As she moved closer to investigate, she could make out something that sounded like whimpering. Dyne wasn't doing that, was he? Nevia slowly pushed the door open, peeking inside of the room. She looked in just enough to see Dyne, tossing occasionally in bed. He was making quite a fuss, groaning and whimpering loudly. She was surprised that he hadn't woken himself up with his own racket. She came into the room fully, moving quickly over to the bed.  
  
"Dyne?" Nevia whispered, watching him carefully. He had his back to her, wearing only a pair of boxers, and was trembling slightly. "Dyne, wake up." Nevia commanded, this time in a slightly louder voice. Dyne's reply was a small whimper, and then he rolled over to face her. He was still asleep, but held a worried and scared expression on his face. He mumbled something incomprehensive, then wined lightly.  
  
Nevia moved closer and began shaking him lightly. "Get up, Dyne." Not getting a reply, she began to shake harder, until he finally bolted upright in bed, gasping as if he needed air. Nevia watched him carefully for a moment as he began to cough and make gagging sounds, as though he would vomit. "Are you alright?" Nevia asked softly as his breathing began to normalize.  
  
Dyne's eyes snapped up to Nevia, a look of utter confusion and dread in them. "Ne. . .Nevia?" He whimpered.  
  
"Yeah...Are you okay?" Nevia whispered. Dyne only watched her for a moment, then suddenly grabbed her in an embrace. Nevia gasped at first, almost afraid that he was going to attack her. However, she blinked in disbelief as she realized that he was hugging her, his head buried into her shoulder. "D-Dyne? Are you alright?"  
  
Dyne whimpered lightly again, then tried to speak. However, he choked up at first, a loud sob coming from his mouth. He held onto Nevia tightly, like a frightened child. "I. . .I can't take it anymore. . ." He whispered. "I'm going mad. . ." His voice broke suddenly as he buried his head more into Nevia's shoulder.  
  
Nevia frowned, feeling rather sorry for him. It baffled her that he could be getting so upset about a dream. She could only imagine that it was a horrible one. "Sssshh. . .It's okay Dyne." She tried to persuade. She ran one hand through his hair lightly, holding him across the back with her other. His skin was rather cool, but he was sweating badly, almost as if he was running a fever. She had never seen him this upset before. He was always trying to be strong, brave, and cocky. These dreams must have really worn him down.  
  
"No. . .It's not okay. . ." Dyne whimpered. "He's trying to get me. . .Every time I sleep now! I can't escape. . ." He was sobbing rather badly now, and Nevia could feel her shirt dampening slightly.  
  
"Dyne. . ." Nevia held him close to her, continuing to comb through his hair with her fingers. He had told her all about his dreams and the demon that haunted him so often. She hadn't thought it could be this bad.  
  
Dyne didn't care. He didn't care right now. He needed someone and he didn't care who. He was just happy it had been Nev. This was really stressing him out, and he wanted to just let it out. He held onto her tightly around the shoulders, feeling like such a baby, but that didn't matter. Bitter tears stung his eyes like fire, but he didn't want to force them back, why bother? It was about time he had a good cry; it'd been a long time. "I want it to end. . ."  
  
"Ssshh. It's alright." Nevia coaxed. "It's gone now."  
  
"But it'll be back. It always does. . .I can't take it anymore!" Dyne cried, looking up at Nevia's face. She was gazing down at him, her concerned, violet eyes staring into his mournful blue.  
  
"Dyne. . .Try to get some rest." Nevia persuaded, her voice very calm and comforting. Dyne laid his head onto her chest, a small hiccup escaping him.  
  
"I can't. . .I'll have the dream again." He whimpered, holding her more tightly. It was apparent now to Nevia that this thing was eating him up inside horribly. She gently forced his head up, so that she could look at his face again.  
  
"I'll stay in here with you. If you start having the dream, I'll wake you up, okay?" She assured. He blinked at her for a minute, his eyes now beginning to dry. Nevia smiled gently at him as he drew a breath.  
  
"Thank you. . ."He brought his face very close to hers as he whispered, and Nevia blushed. She held her breath for a moment, keeping silent as he seemed to observe her face carefully. He was still hugged against her, and now she felt somewhat nervous, but pleasant.  
  
"Dyne. . .What are you doing?" Nevia asked in a soft whisper. Dyne's face slowly changed from a sorrowful frown to a light, sad smirk.  
  
"I don't know." His voice was somewhat strained and scratchy from crying, and his hair was draped across his face wildly. Dyne let one arm slowly slide from Nevia's shoulder to the middle of her back, causing her to shiver slightly. With a blink, Dyne stopped, lightly pulling himself out of the embrace and blushing.  
  
"I'm sorry. . ." He grumbled, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Nevia was staring at him with confusion, causing Dyne to only blush brighter. Dyne looked away from her and down at the covers which had been strewn from him during the tossing he had done in his sleep. He quickly pulled them up to his waist, and then laid down. "I shouldn't have done that. Sorry." He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, sighing it out slowly.  
  
Dyne felt Nevia lean onto the bed, and opened his eyes. She had her elbows on the bed, her head being held up by her hands. Dyne blinked at her. "What're you doing?"  
  
"I'm keeping an eye on you, remember?" Nevia explained with a slight hint of amusement in her voice. She let her arms rest on the bed, cocking her head. "That's what you wanted, right?"  
  
"Well, er, um, uh. . ." Dyne stuttered. After he had held Nevia like that, he figured she would have been as embarrassed as him and left. Why had she stayed?  
  
"What's all that babble supposed to mean, hm?" Nevia asked with a laugh. Dyne watched her for a moment, then sighed, trying to talk again.  
  
"Yeah. . .I would really enjoy your company." This time, it came out quite clearly, and he blushed again, feeling rather foolish. "Aw, man. . ."  
  
"What?" Nevia asked curiously, watching him put one hand to his head and begin rubbing his temples.  
  
"Nothing. I just feel like an idiot." He groaned. He wasn't sure how he felt; he felt foolish, embarrassed, sad, and annoyed at himself. He wasn't sure exactly how to try and explain it.  
  
Nevia smiled lightly, moving her face closer to his. She brought her hand up, putting it under his chin, and turned his head slightly. Her cheeks were flushed badly as she brought her face down to his, giving him a light kiss on the lips.  
  
Dyne didn't know what to think. At first he wanted to lurch up again and yelp in surprise, but instead relaxed and went along with it. After a moment, Nevia stopped and backed away, smiling.  
  
"You sleep." She told him. He was now reluctant; he didn't want to go to sleep now. He wanted to do that again. However, he decided that it would be in his best interest not to try anything stupid.  
  
"Right." Dyne grumbled, closing his eyes. He felt Nevia brush a few stray hairs from his face, then sigh.  
  
"I can't believe I just did that." Nevia groaned to herself mentally. She rolled her eyes at herself, trying not to worry about it. Dyne smiled to himself, sensing her agitation.  
  
"Good night Nev." Dyne croaked, chuckling lightly. Nevia was surprised how quickly he fell asleep.  
  
The next morning, Vergil sat up rather quickly in his bed, stretching long and yawning. He had surprised himself thoroughly.  
  
"Amazing. . .I slept a full night? Hot damn." He grumbled, cracking his neck. For once his mind felt alert and his body agile. He hopped out of bed, feeling quite energetic and frisky. "I'm going to have to run this out of my system today." He told himself, smirking and shaking his head at himself lightly. He then remembered about what Nevia had told him the night before. "I guess that I can try to run some of this energy off then." He decided, pulling a dark blue sweater over his head. He knew it was probably chilly outside. It always seemed to be.  
  
"What do you expect? You're in northern Europe, in the middle of fall. Of course it's nippy." Vergil laughed at himself. He got a pair of blue jeans on, topping the whole thing off with his black leather boots. He figured he could make his morning better by getting himself a good bite to eat. "I wonder if Nev's up yet?" He thought to himself as he left the room.  
  
When he came into the living room, he looked around, seeing Fayze sitting Indian style on the ground in front of the television, a glass of water in front of him. He had one hand to his temple, but he was facing away from Vergil, so that was all he could see. To the boys side a few feet from him were three large books, all leather-bound and rather old. Vergil knew they were some of Nevia's books.  
  
"Fayze? What are you doing?" Vergil asked curiously. Fayze snapped his head around to face Vergil, looking rather startled.  
  
"Oh. . ." Fayze sighed. "I'm practicing. Don't worry about me." Vergil shrugged, not knowing what he meant by 'practicing', and went on into the kitchen. Fayze was still turned around, and listening to Vergil shuffle around the kitchen.  
  
"Vergil, could I get you to do me a favor?" Fayze asked calmly.  
  
"What?" Vergil poked his head out of the kitchen, a piece of bologna hanging out of his mouth.  
  
"I was wondering if I could get you to go to the store for me. I need some more smokes."  
  
Vergil nodded. "No problem kid. They've actually got a cig machine downstairs, if you want to get them from there." He laughed. "It'd be easier."  
  
Fayze blinked. "Oh. Alright, never mind then. I'll get them myself." He stood up, heading out the door.  
  
Vergil could hear light footfalls coming down the hall after a few moments, then was Nevia slink sleepily into the kitchen with him. He cocked a brow, watching her. "You okay there?"  
  
"Yeah. I was just keeping an eye on Dyne last night." She explained. "I wound up only getting about three hours of sleep."  
  
Vergil laughed. "Before last night, I was going on four days with only about three hours of sleep. You're lucky."  
  
"You were up for the past four days straight?!" Nevia gawked. Vergil shrugged and nodded lightly, making a cup of coffee for Nevia and himself. "How did you manage that? I would have collapsed! Why couldn't you sleep?"  
  
Vergil said nothing, only sighed and sat down, pushing a hot cup over to Nev. He looked like he was in a good mood, but didn't seem like he felt like talking.  
  
"Vergil, what's-"  
  
Just then, both heard the front door creak open, then there was a loud racket. Both Vergil and Nevia whipped their heads around to see Fayze by the door. He was rubbing his shin, and on the ground laid Alastor.  
  
"Damn it. . .Why did he leave that there?" Fayze growled. Nevia had completely forgotten that Dyne had put the sword near the door the other day, but it hadn't really been in her way. Fayze carefully picked the large blade up, examining it.  
  
"He doesn't even use the blasted thing. What's he got it for?" Fayze griped, looking at the handle. Dyne really didn't even need Alastor, since he could use Cerbis as a sword just fine. Perhaps he just brought it for extra protection. "Stupid thing. . ." As Fayze grumbled this, he felt a light electrical shock jolt into his hand, and he flinched, dropping the sword to the ground with a clatter. He narrowed his eyes at it for a moment, almost expecting it to leer back at him cruelly. "Bah, I've got work to do, don't have time to fight with some inanimate object."  
  
Vergil and Nevia smiled to each other, silently humored by Fayze's actions with the sword. They both watched as he plopped down on the floor before the TV again, the glass of water in front of him. Vergil looked to Nevia in confusion. "What is he doing anyways?"  
  
Nevia shrugged. "I'm not sure. He's been at it since really late last night. I came out here at three in the morning, and he was up looking through the bookshelf." She explained, pointing to a small bookshelf along the right wall from the couch. There weren't that many books, but they Vergil knew that most of them contained ancient spells and things of that sort. "I asked him what he was doing."  
  
"What did he say?"  
  
"He said he was bored. Wanted to find something to read."  
  
Vergil shook his head. "Well, do you think he's trying a spell or something?"  
  
"Doesn't look like any spell I've read about. I don't know what he's doing."  
  
Fayze kept his mind focused, trying to suppress any stray thoughts. The entirety of his mind was trained on the glass before him, and he was trying to will the water within it to levitate. He was doing it, finally, after being interrupted repeatedly. He was finding it hard to keep his concentration today for some reason. He just hoped it didn't have anything to do with what he had done to Dyne.  
  
Fayze opened his eyes slowly, watching the ball of clear water hovering over the glass. For some reason, liquids were always so much harder to move than solids for him, but at least he could do it with a bit of concentration. He began making the ball change shapes in mid air, watching it morph smoothly.  
  
"Cool!" A loud voice cracked from behind Fayze, breaking his concentration. The beautiful little ball of water dropped to the floor, splattering the carpet. Fayze sighed and turned around.  
  
"Thanks Dyne." Fayze grumbled, getting up and retrieving a rag from the kitchen. He came back and began mopping up the spilled water, watching Dyne hover over him. "What?"  
  
Dyne shrugged. "Nothing really. I just think that's cool as hell."  
  
"Thanks, I suppose." Fayze wondered if Dyne had decided to forgive him yet, but decided not to bring up the subject. "I'm still practicing. I can only do good stuff when I'm angry."  
  
"Could you teach me some of that stuff?" Dyne asked with a wide smirk.  
  
"Well. . .the mental stuff I'm not sure I could teach you. That stuff is a gift. I can teach you spells though."  
  
"Spells?" Dyne blinked. "What kinda spells?"  
  
Fayze moved some, picking up one of the leather-bound books on the floor. "All sorts of spells. I couldn't sleep last night, so I used that time to learn a few."  
  
"Cool." Dyne watched as Fayze began to open the ancient book, seeing words in both Latin and demon language. He could read some of the demon, but he couldn't understand the Latin at all. "Why don't they ever put these books into English?"  
  
"Because, the spells have to be in their original language. You can't just go supping it up. They'd backfire and stuff. Don't worry, I'll help you with any of the Latin.  
  
Dyne shrugged and nodded. "Alright, show me something then."  
  
Fayze smiled. "Okay, I'll show you an easy one. It's a projectile spell. It allows you to concentrate energy into a weapon, and hurl it out from it like a dart or arrow." Fayze explained.  
  
"Like Link?"  
  
"What?" Fayze blinked.  
  
"You know, how Link can shoot a beam sword. Like that?" Dyne asked.  
  
Fayze shrugged and sighed. "Yeah, I suppose so."  
  
Dyne was rather interested in this kind of learning, despite the fact that he hated learning normal things. However, he figured learning spells could help him become a better hunter.  
  
"Okay, when you want to do this spell, you don't have to chant or anything. All you do it control and channel your demonic energy into your weapon. Once the power is within the weapon, however, you can not reabsorb it. It will stay within your weapon for about ten minutes, then it will slowly fade out and disappear. To shoot the energy, just use the energy still within your body to repel the discharged energy pent up inside of the weapon." Fayze explained.  
  
"So, kinda like what my dad does with his guns? He channel energy into his bullets."  
  
"I guess, but this makes a short ranged weapon capable of long range. And it's probably more powerful than a gun." Fayze explained with a shrug.  
  
"Cool. I'll give it a try sometime."  
  
Just before Fayze could get the book open to another spell he thought Dyne might enjoy, Vergil came out into the living room.  
  
"You two up for a little demon hunting?" Vergil asked, strapping his blade across his back. Dyne was up in no time, smirking widely.  
  
"Music to my ears, Verg."  
  
Fayze wasn't quite as enthusiastic as Dyne, but he was certainly willing. "Sure. I could use the exercise. Why not?"  
  
Nevia came from the kitchen soon after, her sword strapped to her waist. "Okay, I'll brief you guys on the way. Go get ready."  
  
Fayze and Dyne both nodded, quickly going into their room. Dyne got on his holsters and a new, black overshirt that Nevia had given him. Fayze swiftly put on his denim jacket and boots, pocketing his weapon jewel. He turned to Dyne afterwards, seeing that he had been forced to just wear the shoulder holsters over his shirts, making them visible for all to see.  
  
"You need to hide those. If someone saw them, they could easily disarm you." Fayze warned.  
  
Dyne rolled his eyes. "Don't you think I know that? It's not like I've got a better place to hide them."  
  
"Well, if you'd like a trench coat. . ." Vergil began from the doorway. Both young men turned around to Vergil, seeing him leaning against the door border. "I have one you could have. It might be a little big though, but it doesn't fit me anymore, so you can have it."  
  
Dyne smiled. "That'd be great." It had been a while since Dyne had worn a good old trench. He missed it. Vergil left the room, coming back after a moment with a dark grey-blue colored coat. He threw it to Dyne, who caught it and slipped it on effortlessly. It actually fit him quite well. "Thanks Verg."  
  
"No problem. Let's go if you guys are ready."  
  
Dyne and the others had made it into demon territory, and were walking cautiously down a narrow street. Vergil was leading, his ears straining to hear the slightest of noises. He knew demons were around, but the question was where. He could sense them and smell them, but they seemed to be in hiding.  
  
"Just keep your eyes sharp guys." Vergil warned, his sword already drawn and ready for action. Dyne was doing exactly as instructed, keeping a close eye on his surroundings. Fayze and Nevia had fallen back a little, just to space the four out.  
  
Even as intently as Dyne listened, he couldn't hear Vergil's footfalls. His uncle strode forward like a silent panther, eyes and ears keen to anything and everything. Dyne's own boots were clacking quite loudly in comparison, and behind him he could hear Nevia's light step, yet not Fayze's.  
  
Vergil suddenly stopped, causing Dyne to almost plow into him. Vergil put one hand up, motioning for the others to stop as well. They all did, seeing Vergil gazing toward a small building, perhaps once a home. The front door was torn off quite viciously, and layed on the ground next to the threshold. It looked as if some sort of animal had shredded it.  
  
"I'm gonna check that out. You guys stay here." Vergil commanded, slowly moving to the building.  
  
"Be careful Verg." Nevia whispered, getting a gentle nod in reply. They all knew Vergil was plenty capable of taking care of himself.  
  
The three watched Vergil disappear through the darkened doorway, and waited. After a few moments however, Dyne snapped his head around as he heard something down the street. It sounded like trashcan's being knocked over. He eyed a small alley entrance, where he was sure the sound had come from.  
  
Dyne looked back at Nevia and Fayze, who had obviously heard it as well. Nevia gave Dyne a quick nod, indicating that they should check it out. Quietly and carefully, Dyne and the others moved toward the alley, Dyne with the Cerbis sword ready. He could still use the gauntlet and sword, but its powers wouldn't help his devil form anymore. With the sword out, he didn't need to use the gauntlet, and it could be dematerialized into his bangle.  
  
As Dyne neared the alley, he motioned for the others to slow down, then plastered himself against the corner wall at the alley. He could smell something there and slowly peeked around the corner. It was extremely dark down there, but Dyne could strain his vision well enough to make out the area. Just as he had thought, something had tipped some garbage cans, and further down the alleyway he could see someone or something staring up at a high wall. The alley itself was a dead end, which whomever this was had found out just now.  
  
Dyne stepped out into the middle of the alley, Nevia and Fayze following his lead. He strode towards this person, and they finally turned with surprise. They were sickly looking and wearing a black cloak, a hood covering their head. Something about the guy made Dyne feel quite ill at ease; however, he could tell they were human.  
  
"I don't like this." Fayze grumbled to Dyne, getting a light scoff as a reply.  
  
"Relax, it's one human. What could he do?" As Dyne said this, the man backed into the wall, looking rather frightened.  
  
"W-who are you?!" He growled angrily despite the obvious fear he showed. "You don't belong here!"  
  
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Dyne asked, glaring down at this guy. The man dropped his hood from over his head. His hair was a strange dark blue color, and seemed change to more of a purple tint as he moved his head slightly. His eyes were yellow green, and looked like those of a cat. As he smiled thinly, Dyne could see sharp fangs in his mouth.  
  
Dyne backed up a step. He couldn't sense anything demonic about this man, but he certainly didn't look exactly human. "You're not human? But. . ."  
  
"I'm human. . .sort of." The man laughed. "You're probably too dull to understand though. . ." He stared at Dyne for a moment, then looked back at Fayze. "You are two of the chosen. . .Aren't you?"  
  
Dyne smirked. "Nah, really? And no, we're not coming with you."  
  
The man closed his eyes and shook his head lightly, smiling all the while. "Oh, yes you are, I'm afraid."  
  
Nevia glared at the guy now. "Not while I'm around. These boys are under my protection."  
  
"Oh," the man chuckled lightly, opening his eyes and staring at Nevia coldly. "we can fix that quite easily."  
  
"What-"Nevia was stopped as she felt someone grab her with one large, muscular arm around the throat, then with another around the chest. She grabbed at the arm at her throat, growling viciously. The same happened to Fayze, who was held in a half nelson and the other arm was put around his torso.  
  
Dyne whipped around, seeing both Nevia and Fayze pinned. He glared up at Nevia's assailant first, peering into the eyes of the man who had attacked him and Fayze the other day; Reese. The man holding Fayze was also recognizable. Dyne remembered that he was the one who had been flogging Fayze.  
  
Fayze couldn't see the man, but he could obviously sense who it was. "You! You filthy bastard! I'll kill you!!" Fayze hissed, struggling wildly to free himself. He would have succeeded too, if the man in the cloak hadn't put his hand up.  
  
"I'd suggest you stop, little runt. And if this one here. . ." Dyne turned, knowing he was addressing him. "Makes the slightest move to attack, we'll be forced to cause harm to the young lady there."  
  
Dyne turned back around, looking at Nevia. A fourth man had come into the alley now, wearing his long brown hair back in a pony tail. He had a strange little device in his hand that looked like some sort of gun with a vial attached in it. On the tip of the gun were two small needles. Dyne imagined it was some kind of syringe gun. He held it up to the side of Nevia's neck, who immediately stopped struggling, as to not have the needles stick her.  
  
"What are you going to do? Inject me with some kind of poison??" Nevia growled, looking over at the man cruelly. The man leered at her.  
  
"Something like that. This will cause you to go into a horrible rage, slowly destroying your mind and eventually your body. It's extremely painful, and can last for days. It would cause you to harm or kill anyone around you, including your friends. And don't think it won't work because you're part devil, trust me, it will." The man explained coolly, keeping the gun aimed at her throat. She stared over at Dyne apologetically, knowing that he would most than likely give up before allowing her to be harmed.  
  
She would be right too. Dyne immediately dropped his sword to his side, drooping his head slightly and sighing. "Alright. . .just. . .just don't hurt her." He looked at Nevia and Fayze both sadly, feeling completely powerless.  
  
The man holding Fayze released him, and the boy stood numbly watching Dyne. Reese chuckled lightly. "Now, all of you drop your weapons, if you have any."  
  
Dyne nodded, letting the Cerbis sword fall to the ground. He slowly took his handguns from his shoulder holster, the man in the cloak watching him carefully, so that he couldn't try any tricks. He took the guns out, showed them, then slowly set them on the ground. Nevia undid her sword belt, letting it and her sheathed sword fall to the ground. All of the men watched Fayze, waiting for him to drop any weapons. He quickly looked around, seeing that Nevia was only a foot from him, and the man with the syringe was right next to her, somewhat to her front and side. He sighed, looking up to Reese, who glared down at him malevolently.  
  
"Put down your weapons, boy." Reese warned. Fayze shook his head.  
  
"I have none." He answered simply, giving Reese a shrewd smile.  
  
"Bull shit. You had weapons the other day, now drop them." Reese growled impatiently.  
  
Fayze sighed, slowly digging into his jacket pocket, his sharp smirk still across his face. He meekly revealed his small gem, holding it up at about heads height. "All I have is this 'Sutekki'."  
  
Then next events to unfold were something remarkable. The gem suddenly changed into its long staff form, the end of it in Fayze's hand. It jutted out past Nevia's face and plowed straight into the cheek of the guy with the syringe gun, sending him away from her and to the ground.  
  
Before the guy could even hit the ground, Fayze ran forward a few steps, to make distance between himself and the man who had flogged him. He whipped around on him, using his pole like a spear. He smashed the end of it into the guy's nose and mouth, causing him to fall over backwards in surprise and pain. Before Reese's mind even had time to register the situation, Fayze dashed behind him, spouting another word of Japanese. A long scythe blade grew from the end of the pole, and Fayze brought it around the side of Reese's throat, holding the scythe between the front of Reese's neck and the back of Nevia's head. He pressed the blade against his neck lightly. All of Fayze's actions took place within a time span of about six seconds, and Dyne could barely believe it had even taken place.  
  
Dyne took this opportunity to duck down, and sweep up his guns. He pointed both weapons at the cloaked figure, glaring at him maliciously. "Fuckin' idiots."  
  
The man suddenly looked rather frightened and began to sweat lightly. "W-what are you going to do?"  
  
Dyne looked back at Fayze, smirking. "Nice job, man." He complimented.  
  
Fayze smirked coolly, keeping his scythe fixed across Reese's neck, who was keeping very still and quiet. "Told you I'd earn my keep. I'm not a stranger to these sort of situations." He held the scythe blade against Reese's neck a little harder. If Reese so much as swallowed, he'd be sliced quite badly. "Now, release Nevia."  
  
Reese slowly did as he was commanded, dropping Nevia out of his grip. She quickly moved away from him and next to Dyne, turning and glaring up at Reese. "Bastard. . ."  
  
Reese smirked. "Why thank you." He said sarcastically. "But now what do you plan to do?"  
  
Dyne kept his guns trained onto the cloaked man. "I should kill you both. . ."  
  
Reese smiled. "Oh really? Hey Arrin, what do you think about that?"  
  
The cloaked man, obviously Arrin, smiled thinly. "I think there might be a small miscalculation there. . .You won't be killing us." Dyne cocked a smirk at the guy.  
  
"Yeah? What makes you say that?"  
  
"Because you won't get the chance. . ."  
  
As Fayze held the scythe, he suddenly felt a shot of terrible pain in the side of his back. He cried out, taking the scythe from Reese's neck and spinning around. There was a shadow demon standing about fifteen feet from him, and it was stalking around, growling low. Fayze hadn't even felt it coming up behind him, since the sense of demon was so strong in the area. Dyne shot a glance back at him, but quickly turned his attention back to Arrin, pretty sure that Fayze would be alright.  
  
Reese took this moment to suddenly jump onto the roof of one of the building making the alley. Dyne still couldn't figure out how a human could possess those abilities. And this guy Arrin. . .He didn't seem like a demon either; however, his looks proved obviously otherwise.  
  
Arrin apparently thought that now was a good time to try and attack Dyne. He leapt forward at him, and Dyne brought one gun up, blasting a round straight into his chest. The power of the bullet made him seem to stop in midair, as if hit by an invisible wall of sorts. He let out a small yelp of pain, and then crumpled to the ground, still.  
  
Dyne quickly spun around, ready to help Fayze and Nevia, who had just joined Fayze in the fight against the Shadow. Dyne moved in front of Fayze, drawing both guns and squeezing slug after slug into the demon. It came running at him, causing the three to spread out. Dyne kept the creature's attention on him, keeping his bullets pelting into it's body. It got up close for a bite attack, but Dyne rolled to his side, the beasts gapping mouth missing him by inches. Dyne moved back a few feet, continuing his barrage of bullets.  
  
Finally, the creature could take no more, and it sunk down, revealing its core. Dyne motioned his head to Fayze, giving him the right to finish the thing off, since it had attacked him first. Fayze obliged, running forward and slicing into it with his scythe. He and Dyne quickly moved as the demon created its black spike pillars from the ground, then reformed its body. It now had turned its crimson color, and all they had to do was keep away from it for a minute until it exploded.  
  
Dyne ran one way, and Fayze the other. The Shadow decided that Fayze was its target, and went charging after him. Fayze took a dash at the back wall of the alley, then hit the corner between one wall and anther, getting as high as he could before pushing off and flipping backwards behind the beast. He then took off at a lope as the confused devil turned around, coming after him again. It seemed to completely ignore Nevia, who was leaned back against a wall next to a trash can, watching the action. She knew the boys could handle it.  
  
Finally, after chasing Fayze around for another minute, the Shadow growled, arching its back. Its core was partially visible, and it exploded. Dyne looked around as things became very silent suddenly, seeing the two unconscious men and the guy Arrin laying dead on the ground. Nevia pushed off the wall, clapping her hands lightly.  
  
"Good job guys." She complimented. Fayze turned slowly to her, breathing roughly and his back to Dyne. Dyne could see a large pierced hole in the high right side of his back, blood seeping slowly from the wound and dampening his jacket.  
  
"Hey, you alright?" Dyne asked, moving closer to look at him. He could hear his that his breathing was rather chortled, and the boy slowly brought his head around to look at Dyne. He gave a light cough, which soon changed to a chain of loud, liquid sounding hacks. He kneeled down on the ground, holding his chest as blood sprayed like a mist from his mouth when he coughed. Dyne and Nevia both ran to his side, Dyne trying to help him up.  
  
"I'll be alright, I think. . ." Fayze said weakly, blood seeping from his mouth. He'd obviously been hit in the lung. He shakily stood to his feet, coughing lightly again. He took shallow breaths, trying to keep from coughing again.  
  
"Fayze, don't hold back any coughs, otherwise you might drown in your own blood." Nevia warned with concern. Fayze smiled up at her, taking that as a joke.  
  
"But the monsters will hear me. . .I don't want to be a bother. . ." Fayze groaned softly, giving another hack. He held his hand up to his mouth, trying to keep the blood from spraying. He then looked at the blood on his hand, frowning. "Oh god. . ."  
  
"What is it?" Dyne asked as Fayze seemed to turn paler. The boy shook his head calmly.  
  
"I've. . .I've never been wounded like this. The worst beating I've ever taken was actually that flogging." He winced and groaned again as he said that. "My chest is burning. . ." He remembered his father telling him about Shadow's. He'd never actually fought one before, only watched his father do it with ease. The wound in his back sent a horrible throbbing pain into his entire chest every time he tried to breath, and he felt like he would black out with the pain every time he coughed.  
  
"Are you gonna be alright?" Dyne asked, putting Fayze's arm around his shoulder to help him out. It seemed that Dyne had decided undeclared to forgive Fayze for the day before.  
  
"Yeah. . .Think so. . ." Fayze groaned and gave another cough. He smiled lightly up at Dyne, glad to see that he didn't seem upset with him anymore.  
  
"Let's get out of here. We need to find Vergil. I think something's wrong." Nevia said. It was odd that he hadn't come at the sounds of the gunshots. What was he doing?  
  
Dyne nodded, taking a look back at the lifeless form of Arrin. "What's with these guys? They're not demons. . .but they can't be human. . ."  
  
Nevia shook her head. "We don't have time to worry about it. Come on, Vergil might be in trouble."  
  
Just then, there was a loud, demonic roar from nearby, one that sounded horribly pissed.  
  
Nevia groaned. "I think we might know where Vergil is. . ." 


	13. Chapter 13

I apologize for taking so long to update. I had some HORRIBLE writers block, and it would not go away for over a week. Don't ask why, I've got no clue what happened. Maybe I need to just go play with my muse or something. . .I don't know. Perhaps I'll make up for it, since this chapter actually has some ACTION! Of course, so did the last chapter. (coughs and shrugs)

I want to thank the few loyal readers of this story, thank you very much all. (bows) I know these chapters are long, and perhaps boring or intimidating. I apologize, but I can't get it out right in only a short thing, and I really don't even notice the length until I'm proofreading it. Also, I don't think people seem to enjoy OC's as much. I'm sorry, and I'll probably tone down the amount of them in later stories. . .

Disclaimer: I don't own DMC, but anyone or anything that you've never seen in any of the games is mine DMC is Capcom's!

Chapter 13

Dyne held Fayze on his shoulder, giving him support so that he could walk. He had one arm across the boys upper back above the wound, and the other clenching the grip of the Cerbis sword. However, Fayze was beginning to sag horribly, and becoming rather heavy. Dyne wasn't sure how long he'd stay conscious at this rate. The wound in his back was slowly healing, but not as quickly as the blood could flow from it. They didn't have anything to pack into it, so he was forced to bleed. His face was becoming as ashy as his hair, and his eyes were slightly glazed.

Dyne didn't understand why Fayze was healing this slowly. If he'd have been hit by a shadow like that, even in the lung, he would have been up and ready to fight again by now.

"Fayze, why aren't you healing right?" Dyne asked quietly. "That thing should already be mended."

Fayze smiled at him weakly. "I'm not as quick a healer as you. . .Remember the whip lashes? It took me about twenty minutes to heal from those completely and that was just minor wounds. . .It'd take you less than five. . .I just don't heal as fast. . ." He coughed lightly, stumbling over his own feet a little, but was quickly lifted back up by Dyne.

"Don't die on me, Fayze." Dyne grumbled, shifting him lightly. Fayze only groaned slightly, then coughed hoarsely. He began to speak lightly.

"I'll be fine. . .Just. . .I just need to rest. . ." Fayze groaned softly. "I should have used my spells. . .I wasn't thinking about it." He hadn't expected to get attacked from behind like he had, or he might have been able to perform a shadow spell, to replace his physical body with a sort of doppelganger.

Nevia smiled at him. "You still did a good job. Don't worry about it." She sighed, straining her ears for any sound. "Right now we have to find Vergil, and quickly."

Both Dyne and Fayze nodded. Since they had heard the roar, the entire area had been dead silent. They slowly came around to the doorway that Vergil had gone through, and Nevia anxiously ran inside, looking around. It was a large living room, but the couch was turned over, old and shredded badly. There were a few chairs, all broken apart, and two lamps, lying broken on the ground. However, there was no sign of Vergil.

"Vergil!" Nevia called, not caring if any demon's heard her. She moved forward more into the room, looking down a corridor that led to the rest of the house. Dyne gently kneeled down, sliding Fayze from his shoulder and letting him rest against the wall near the doorway. Fayze didn't bother to argue, and sat there quietly, taking shallow breaths of air.

Dyne stood up, coming down toward the corridor Nevia was standing in. The wallpaper in the hall was shredded badly in many places, and there were also large holes smashed into the wall. He could sense Vergil somewhere in the building, and looked to Nevia. "Well, now what?"

"What do you think? We've got to find Vergil." Nevia replied, moving toward a door at the end of the corridor. Dyne followed her through as she opened it, and they found themselves in another hall. It went both to the left and right, and there were two doors to the left, one to the far right, and one right in front of them.

"I'll take to the right and front. You look down there." Nevia ordered, pointing Dyne towards the left. Dyne nodded his agreement, moving quickly in that direction. He came to the first door against the right wall, pushing it open slowly. It was just an old, smelly bathroom; nothing of importance seemed to be inside. He shut the door quietly, then continued down the hall, toward the door against the end wall.

As he neared it, he could feel something inside, something wicked. It sure as hell wasn't human, and it was big, whatever it was. He came close, against the door now, and could hear something inside that made a sliding-like sound. Along with it, he could hear someone groan softly, a deep groan, possibly Vergil. Slowly, Dyne pushed the door open a little, letting his eyes scan the side of the room that was within view.

It was probably once someone's bedroom, but no longer. Now, it smelled musty and old, and the windows were shattered. The first thing Dyne saw was a large dresser, looking almost as if someone had smashed it in half in the middle. Dirty, stained clothes were scattered across the floor, and Dyne allowed himself further into the room, looking past the door.

As Dyne looked to the other side of the room, he gasped. Next to the bed was a gargantuan black serpent and Dyne though immediately that it was Kumo sporting only one head. However, he remembered that Kumo had been a greener color as a snake. The snakes head nearly touched the high ceiling, and its body was raised in front of itself. Dyne noticed that the monster seemed to have someone wrapped tightly in it coils, and they were moving slightly. The only part of their body that wasn't wrapped was their head. Dyne could see the white, slicked back hair of his uncle, his face clenched in pain as the serpent squeezed harder.

"Verg!" Dyne yelled, quickly getting his blade ready. His yell caught the snake's attention, and the beast stared over at him in alarm, then let a long hiss emit from its mouth. Vergil turned his head slightly, opening his eyes as he heard Dyne's voice.

"Dyne!" Vergil growled, his voice sounding very strained and pained. "Get me down from here!" He groaned loudly as the serpent twisted its coils tighter around him, his breathing becoming light and labored.

"Hold on!" Dyne charged forward at the monster, waiting to see if it would try to strike at him. Just as he expected, it lunged its head forward, rows of sharp, venom filled teeth gleaming brightly in its gapping mouth. Dyne quickly jumped up into the air, landing on the top of its enormous head. He raised his sword up into the air, but before he could plunge it into the snake's skull, it bucked upward, sending Dyne from its head and into the ceiling. Caught by surprise, the back of Dyne's head and shoulders slammed hard into the roof, then he fell to the floor. However, he managed to right himself enough during the fall to land in a kneel on all fours, then spun back around to face the monster.

Dyne could plainly see Vergil weakly struggling to get loose and he knew he needed to free him before he continued this battle. Dyne took his sword quickly, spread his legs slightly to balance himself, twisted his body to one side, then threw his weight forward, hurling the sword, sending it spinning forward toward the serpents body like a giant boomerang. The blade sliced cleanly into a part of its body, close to where Vergil was being held. The snake reared up, screeching loudly as it unfolded its coils and let Vergil fall to the floor. Vergil just laid there for some time, gasping for air as Dyne continued fighting.

Nevia had obviously heard the commotion within the bedroom, and ran into the room, staring at the scene for a moment. Dyne was keeping himself moving, running around and around the snake quickly, trying to confuse it and keep it from Vergil, who Nevia could see laying on the floor close by. She quickly ran over, grabbing Vergil around the arms and dragging him away while the serpent had its attention on Dyne.

She dragged him over to the door and rolled him over onto his back, trying to look at his face. His breathing was shallow, and he held a rather pained expression on his bright red face, which was slowly returning to a paler pink color. "Verg, are you alright?" Nevia asked, her voice somewhat shaky. If he wasn't alright, someone was going to pay dearly.

Vergil slowly opened his eyes, groaning lightly. The snake hadn't broken any bones yet, but had certainly squeezed him hard enough to make him ache horribly. His lungs were beginning to work properly again, and he moved his head around slightly. "Nngh. . ."

"Verg, are you okay?" Nevia repeated, moving him into a sitting position. Vergil groaned in pain as she did, but nodded to show that he was, in fact, going to be alright. "Good." Nevia smiled thinly, looking over to Dyne and the snake again.

Dyne was managing to stay unscathed, keeping himself moving around the serpent, so that it couldn't land a blow. He would wait for the snake to strike at him, then move, either thrusting or slashing his sword into the snake's body. He slowly worked his way from its lower body, to the area around its head, hoping he could gouge into its skull soon.

The serpent's movement was becoming sluggish now, and it wasn't rearing up anymore before it struck, due to the multiple slashes and stab wound along its body. It kept its head low to the ground, lunging forward to snap at Dyne every few moments, but Dyne was quite a bit quicker than the beast. He was now working at its face, stabbing into its jaw and trying to get to the eyes.

Dyne gave a triumphant smirk as the creature reared back, screeching and hissing as its eye was pierced, dark green blood flowing from it heavily. He quickly dashed for the wall, running up it and springing off, flying toward the serpents blinded side with his sword held below him. He flew over its head, his blade slashing into its nose. The sword caught against bone, and Dyne's body was thrusted downward. He quickly took footing on the back of the serpent's head, where the skull met with its neck. His sword was buried deep into its face, and it heaved its head up again, roaring loudly; the same horrible, blood curdling sound Dyne and the others had heard from outside earlier. Dyne dug his boots into the snake's skin, clutching the grip of his sword tightly. He certainly didn't want to pull the blade out; that would only allow the beast to buck him off again.

The creature obviously wasn't planning on letting Dyne find the time to figure out a plan, and charged into a wall, smashing through it rather easily. Dyne was flung forward from the force, he and the Cerbis blade slamming into a brick wall outside of the house and in another small alley. Dyne's back hit the wall, and as he slid down slightly, he tried to clear his mind from the blow, and pushed off, flying in the serpent's direction again. No overgrown reptile was going to use him like a rag doll and get away with it.

He could see the snake's body below him. It was staring up at him with its one eye, getting ready to strike up at him. Dyne reached quickly into his shoulder holsters, drawing his guns. He held Cerbis and one gun oddly in one hand and the other gun in his other, taking aim. As he sailed over the creature, he sent down a rain of bullets, watching them pelt into the serpents head with tiny mists of hunter green blood. The beast hissed loudly, shooting its head up at Dyne, its mouth open for Dyne to see long rows of razor sharp teeth, dripping with froth from the creature's exhaustion. Dyne took quick and careful aim, letting one well placed round rupture the snakes other eye, blinding it completely. It didn't seem to feel this new pain, but kept coming up for him.

Dyne nearly yelped with joy as the creature missed him by only inches. He quickly twisted in the air, letting his back fall into the wall opposite the one he'd slammed into a second ago. However, he braced himself this time, and slid down a little, enough to lower himself to a level only a few feet from the snakes head. He bounded off the wall, holstered his guns quickly, and went back to just his sword. He glided straight at the serpent's body, holding his sword out in front of him.

Dyne's body collided into that of the snakes, like a giant human dart. His sword pierced into its body deeply, and he planted his feet against its flesh. Dyne's weight caused him to sag slightly, and as he took a quick saw-like motion into the beast's skin with his blade, the sword began to give way, causing Dyne and his sword to slide down the monsters body, Cerbis slicing thought the flesh cleanly. Finally, Dyne landed onto the ground, looking up to see his handy work. The snake was twisting slightly in the air, a weak yet loud hiss emitting from its mouth. From near the top of it head all the way down to the part upon the ground there was a long, deep gash that Cerbis had caused. Dyne smirked coolly, backing away slightly as the snake gave one last spasm and crumpled into a heap on the ground.

Dyne sighed with relief, breathing a little heavily. He rubbed his temples lightly, his head throbbing from being smashed against the wall. He slowly turned around, looking back to the massive, gapping hole in the side of the house. He strode over to it, jumping through and back into the bedroom. His eyes immediately fell onto Vergil and Nevia, who were both still near the door. They both stared at Dyne, and Nevia slowly stood up, moving toward Dyne.

"You alright, Dyne?" Nevia asked, coming in front of him now, looking him over. He was splattered with some of the green blood, and a small bit of his own trickled down his forehead, but he didn't seem to notice it. He nodded silently, smirking.

"Cake." Nevia scowled at him, and then shook her head lightly, only getting a small laugh from Dyne. "Oh, come on. It really wasn't that bad." Nevia didn't bother to say another word, turning back to Vergil, who was slowly getting to his feet.

"Nice work Dyne. Not bad for what happened yesterday." Vergil praised, groaning lightly as he came closer. "I didn't see the bitch coming when she attacked me. . .I should have known."

"It was a girl?" Dyne asked curiously, cocking a brow slightly as Vergil nodded. "How do you know?"

Vergil pointed toward the bed weakly, his bones and muscles still aching terribly. Dyne glanced over toward it. He hadn't really paid any attention to the bed earlier, but the blankets were rather soiled, mounded up into what looked like a nest of sorts. Curious, Dyne stepped up to the bed, looking at a dozen giant eggs. They were grey in color, and about twice the size of ostrich eggs.

"Holy shit!" Dyne yelped, blinking at them all. Vergil shuffled up next to him, glaring down at them.

"When I came inside, I saw the eggs. Then while I was looking, the snake bitch came out from the attic and grabbed me." After saying that, Vergil pointed at the ceiling up at a trap door, obviously leading to the attic. "She was pissed, to say the least." He shrugged lightly, sighing. "Just protecting her babies, I guess."

"Yeah, well we can't have more of those things slithering around here. We should get rid of them." Dyne suggested. Vergil nodded his agreement, drawing his sword.

"Nev and I will take care of these. You go check on Fayze, alright?" Dyne nodded and did as he was told, quickly leaving the room and running back to the living room, where Fayze was still propped against the wall near the doorway.

He came up to him, kneeling down. The boys head was rested onto his chest, and there wasn't any sign of movement. "Hey, Fayze?" Dyne looked him over more thoroughly. Blood was smeared heavily onto the wall behind him, and had soaked through his jacket almost entirely now. Small drops of blood dripped from the bottom of his jacket, falling to the floor into a little puddle. Dyne nudged him lightly, becoming considerably nervous. "Fayze, HEY!"

Fayze groaned hoarsely, barely moving his head. He shivered lightly, weakly bringing his head from his chest to look at Dyne. His pale, white face was also smeared with dark crimson blood, and the liquid was seeping lightly from his mouth and nose. "D. . .Dyne?" He whispered, his eyes slightly glazed and half closed. "Did you. . .find Vergil?"

Dyne nodded quickly, his face beginning to look sick with fear. He carefully leaned Fayze forward some, examining his back. The hole was nearly healed now, but blood still seeped from the wound.

"Dyne. . .Am I going to. . .die?" Fayze asked again at a whisper, watching him fearfully.

Dyne shook his head picking up one of his hands in his own to try and comfort him. Fayze's hand was icy cold to the touch, and Dyne felt the color drain from his own face slightly. Fayze frowned sadly as he watched Dyne's face lighten. "I'm not going to live. . .am I?"

"No, you're gonna live." Dyne reassured. Your wound's almost healed. . ."

"But. . .I've lost a lot of blood. . .too much. . .I can't stay awake much longer. . .I was falling to sleep earlier, until you came back. I didn't think I'd wake up if I fell to sleep though."

Dyne sighed miserably, not knowing what to do. He couldn't heal him; he didn't have any vital stars and he didn't know any healing magic. He patted Fayze lightly on the shoulder, smiling thinly. "I'm gonna go get Verg and Nev, okay? Maybe they can help. . ."

Fayze nodded weakly, smiling with even less energy than his nod. "Thanks, I'll be. . .waiting. . .promise. . ." He dropped his head slightly, looking down at his legs.

Dyne quickly stood up. "You just hold on tight buddy." He quickly dashed off back to the bedroom, where Nevia and Vergil were just finishing destroying the eggs.

"Guys. . .Fayze isn't looking too good. I don't think he's gonna make it." His voice was very quiet, and he forced it to keep above a breaking point. "He's pretty much bled out and he's soaked, and he's fucking dying on me out there!" His voice was nearly a yell now, and his eyes snapped quickly between Nevia and Vergil both. Nevia quickly ran from the room without a word, Dyne following closely behind her. Vergil walked out, his body hurting too much to run.

Nevia hastily sat next to the boy, Dyne kneeling on his other side. "Fayze?" Nevia called lightly, her voice tinged with fear. She whimpered lightly when he made no reply. His body was slumped horribly, his head lying on his chest again. "Fayze!" This time she yelled his name, and put her hands onto his shoulders, shaking him lightly. His head merely lolled back and forth with each shake, and Nevia scooted back slightly, gasping and putting her hands to her mouth. "Oh god. . ."

Dyne's face slowly took a slight shade of green as he stared at the boys limp body. Fayze's shoulders were slumped low, his arms dangling to the ground. Trembling, Dyne brought a hand up to Fayze's neck, feeling for a pulse. He felt around his neck a bit, but got nothing. He let his hand slowly slip from Fayze's neck. "No. . ." Dyne groaned lightly, sighing heavily as tears began to sting at his eyes. He growled softly, putting his hands on Fayze's shoulders roughly. "Damn you! You said you'd wait! God damn it you!" He clenched his hands around the fabric of Fayze's jacket tightly, letting his head sag. "Damn it, kid. . .Why!?" The tears slowly began to trickle down Dyne's face, and he slowly looked over to Nevia.

She too was crying, but quite a bit more openly. Her sobs were fairly audible, but she kept her hands over her mouth, muffling them slightly.

Vergil slowly came into the room, seeing the three. He had a grim look on his face, and groaned sadly, closing his eyes. "I'm really sorry guys. . .I didn't think. . .he'd die so easily from a Shadow wound."

Dyne had been impaled repeatedly by Shadow's. He knew it hurt, but one wouldn't kill him that easily. The kid had been even stronger than Dyne when he had attacked him. How could he have fallen with such ease? "How? How did it. . ."

Vergil sighed. I'm guessing he's a slower healer. . .Not only that, but he's part vamp. And when vamps loose a lot of blood, they tend to weaken, as do their healing abilities." Vergil explained sullenly. Dyne quickly remembered Fayze telling him about being slow at healing, but still. "I'm sorry. . .but. . .there's nothing we can do. He's. . .dead."

Nevia choked on a sob as she tried to hold it back, shaking her head. "No. . ." She really liked the kid, despite what he might have done. She knew he'd meant no harm to Dyne. He was a sweet boy, and he didn't deserve this. "He's just a kid!"

Vergil moved over to both of them, picking them off the ground and hugging them in his arms. "Look, I'm sorry. . .We can't do anything about it. . .But right now, we have to get out of here and back home. There might be more demons coming here right now to figure out what happened to their brethren." His voice was low and sad, but he sounded very serious. As cold as it seemed, he wasn't going to let them sit around and bawl their eyes out. "We'll bring him back home, alright? He needs to be buried or something. . .You can mourn for him when we get back home, got it?"

Nevia almost wanted to slap Vergil for once for being so cruel hearted. However, she knew he was right, and so did Dyne. They had to get out of there, and fast. She slowly nodded, standing up weakly. "Okay. . .We can go. . ."

Dyne stared at Fayze for a moment before moving toward him and grabbing him around the chest. He stood up carefully, draping Fayze over his shoulder, and then looked at Vergil, his face straight and emotionless. "Let's just go. . ."

Reese watched from the roof of the house as the four slowly left the building. He cursed himself as he caught sight of Fayze's body. They weren't supposed to kill any of them, they were supposed to bring them back alive. "Fuck, I'm in for it when I get back. . ." he thought to himself as he turned away, moving over to the side of the roof where he had fought them in the alley.

As he looked down, he could see the three men, laying sprawled out. He hoped down, checking on them. The man who had held Fayze was dead for sure, his neck snapped backwards from the blow he had been dealt. The one holding the syringe gun was also dead, his jaw twisted oddly to one side from the impact of the pole. He knew for sure that Arrin was dead. He might have been given the powers of a vampire, but he was still a human.

Reese shook his head lightly, sighing heavily. "Master won't be too pleased with this report. . .He's going to want to take care of this personally. . ." He slowly turned, leaving from the alley.

And I'm stopping there, because I'm too tired to go on, and I want to save the rest for the next chapter! XD I'm going to get yelled at by someone. . .


	14. Chapter 14

It took me a while to update because of writers block. . .(sighs) I can't help it, I need something to get my muse up again, but I just can't right now. I think the block is clearing, and eventually it'll be gone. (I hope) This is actually a short chapter. (if six pages is really short) And I wasn't impressed, thanks to that cursed writers block. Oh well, read and review if you feel that I deserve it.

Before I forget, once again. . .I don't own DMC, but anyone or thing you've never heard of in the game belongs to me. . .You know the disclaimer routine. . .Even though I'd highly doubt that Capcom would sniff me out and sue me for not putting it, because I've never heard of anyone getting sued for fan fiction. . .

Anyways! Enough ranting damn it and here's the chapter!

Chapter 14

"What are we going to do?!" Dyne growled lowly as he, Nevia and Vergil headed back to the apartment, still in demon territory. Dyne still had Fayze draped across his back, and the boy's blood was now beginning to trail down his coat.

"We can't do anything, Dyne. I'm sorry." Vergil apologized, but got no answer. Dyne was taking this rather hard, despite the fact that he supposedly hated the kid. Dyne wouldn't admit it openly, but he really didn't mind the guy. He was a good kid, in spite of his little 'problem', and Dyne hadn't gotten the chance to forgive him publicly yet. After he saved them back there, Dyne felt terrible for having wanted him dead so badly.

"He's got family and stuff, right? They need to be informed, but how? I mean, we can't just-"

"Dyne!" Vergil interrupted, turning back to him. His eyes were stern and hard, his face rather straight. "We will try to sort things out, alright? Just. . .please keep quiet before something hears you." Dyne lowered his head, feeling somewhat sick. Vergil seemed to be barely be affected by Fayze's death; however, as Dyne looked over at Nevia, he could still see tears dampening her cheeks.

The walk back to the apartment was completely uneventful, and Dyne had trudged rather far ahead of the others. He made it back to the apartment with Fayze first, then carefully laid the bloody kid down on the ground next to the couch. He flopped down onto the floor next to him, staring at his still, pale body.

Only moments after he had sat down, the door behind him opened. Dyne turned his head as Nevia came through first, wiping her eyes and quickly slinked into the kitchen. Dyne turned away, looking back to Fayze as Vergil stepped in, but quickly turned back as there was a loud thump.

"Damn it!" Vergil growled, rubbing his leg. Dyne saw Alastor laying on the floor, where Vergil had apparently stumbled into it. After Fayze had bumped into it, Vergil had set it back against the wall. He hadn't expected to run into it himself. "Dyne, didn't your daddy teach you how to pick up your toys when you were done playing with them?"

Dyne gave him a withered frown and sighed. "Sorry Verg. . .I completely forgot about it." Normally, Dyne would have laughed at Vergil's misfortune, but he certainly wasn't in the mood today; not with Fayze being dead.

Vergil scowled at Dyne, and then carefully picked the blade off the ground, holding it as though it weighed nothing and held it out toward Dyne. "Are you even going to use this thing? I haven't seen you use it even once."

Dyne shrugged. He really hadn't used it much, but there was no need to. He had Cerbis, and that was more than enough to get the job done, not to mention he could still use most of his skills with the Cerbis blade that he could with Alastor. "No, I guess not."

Vergil sighed, massaging his temples with his free hand. "You really shouldn't bring equipment with you if you don't plan to use it. It'll just be a hindrance to you."

Dyne nodded. "I know. . ." He had brought the sword for extra protection, just in case there was a reason he might need it. Dyne scolded himself mentally; he always had a habit of bringing things with him that he probably wouldn't need.

Vergil flipped Alastor in his fingers, examining it carefully. This was the same blade he had felt the sting of so many times on Mallet Island; the same sword his brother had carried. He continued looking at it for a few more moments, until a sudden jolt of electricity stabbed into his arm, forcing him to fumble the blade as it hit the ground with a loud clatter. "Damn." He shook his hand gently of the tingling sensation of pain, staring down at the sword. He carefully picked it back up, growling lightly.

"I don't think it likes you Verg." Dyne joked half heartedly. Vergil shot him a look, then headed down the hall.

"I'll just put this in your room if you don't plan to use it." Dyne shrugged at this, and Vergil carefully opened Dyne's bedroom door, propping the sword against the wall next to the door. "Maybe this will teach you a lesson. . ." A light grin crossed Vergil's face as he thought this and he spun back around, shutting the door and coming back into the living room.

Vergil stood at the side of the sofa, looking down at Dyne and Fayze. Dyne had his eyes fixed on the boy, looking at him with a grim face. Vergil sighed. He had gotten to like the kid too, but he wouldn't show that he cared that much. Vergil wasn't the type to let these things bother him, not with as much death as he had seen in his life. With a slow shake of his head, Vergil left the room, going into the kitchen quietly where Nevia was sitting, drinking a glass of water.

Dyne took a deep breath and sighed it out, continuing to gaze at Fayze. He leaned back against his hands after a while, but blinked as he thought he saw something.

"Did his hand just. . ." Dyne blinked again as he thought, his gaze switching from Fayze's body to his hand. He thought he had seen a finger twitch, but now there was nothing. "I'm just imagining things. . .He couldn't have moved. . ."

Fayze's fingers gave another jerk, causing Dyne to yelp lightly. "Hey! Verg, Nev! Get in here!" Dyne yelled, excitement riding in his voice. He quickly turned back to Fayze as the boys hand moved in less of a jerky movement, and his eye brow twitched. Nevia and Vergil came in, Vergil quickly giving Dyne a questioning look. "He's alive! He just moved, I swear!"

"Dyne. . .You're seeing things. . .He couldn't-"Vergil began, but was stopped with surprise as Fayze suddenly arched his back, gasping for air. Nevia shrieked right as he did so, jumping back and holding her hands to her mouth in astonishment.

"Oh my god! He. . .he's alive!!" Nevia yelped, almost in disbelief. Vergil sighed, which Dyne took as a sign of relief. Dyne himself kept watching the boy, a hopeful look on his face.

Fayze grabbed at his chest, gasping and coughing for air, his eyes wide open almost in shock. Dyne leaned forward, trying to calm him and moved back as the boy sat up rapidly, panting. His face slowly began to change from its dead, ashy white to a pale peach.

"Fayze, thank god!" Nevia squeaked, kneeling down close to him. Dyne patted his back, which was now healed the rest of the way.

Fayze coughed again, holding his chest. "W. . .water. . ." Before he could even get the whole word out, Nevia had sprung up and dashed into the kitchen, quickly getting him a glass of water and bringing it back to him.

The boy took the drink in a pair of trembling hands, trying to drink it steadily, but spilling some down his bloody face and chest. He drank about half of it before coughing heavily into his hands, some sticky blood coming up. He looked down at it and groaned in disgust. "T. . .towel. . ."

This time, Dyne was the one that got up, quickly running into the bathroom and taking up a rag on the sink, then ran back to Fayze's side and handed it to him. Fayze nodded in thanks and wiped his hands, then coughed into it some more.

"Fayze man, we thought you died!" Dyne yelled, sitting back with a comforted grin on his face. Fayze stared at him for a moment.

"You. . .cared about me?" He croaked softly, smiling as Dyne nodded.

"Of course I cared! We all did!" Dyne admitted, looking to the ground. "I kinda. . .feel like an ass for the way I treated you yesterday and all. . ."

Fayze coughed once again into his rag, then gave Dyne a thin smile. "I don't blame you for being angry. . .I can understand." He quickly drank the rest of his water, then laid back down onto the floor, taking a deep breath and sighing it out.

Dyne made no other comment on the whole biting issue, but instead blinked in awe about his sudden revival. "How did you do that anyways? You were dead! I mean, not just, kinda dead, but completely unmoving, no breathing, no pulse dead!"

Fayze grinned almost proudly and gave a small chuckle. "I'm half immortal, remember? I told you that the other day. My body can revive itself from death."

Dyne gave him a confused look, cocking his head to one side slightly. "You mean like Highlander?"

Fayze burst out laughing at his question, but then started coughing horribly into the rag again. After he managed to calm his hacking, he gave Dyne a wide grin. "Yes, like Highlander, Dyne. . .Kind of. . .You can only kill an immortal by decapitation, but all that stuff about 'the quickening' and not being able to have kids and all that is bogus. However, it took me a while to come back, since I'm only half. . ."

Dyne smirked sloppily and stood up, watching as Fayze tried to do the same. However, he was quickly halted by Nevia, who put a hand firmly on his shoulder.

"Rest, Fayze. I'm sure you're tired. . .You died of blood lose, after all." She tried to persuade.

At first, he had felt fine, but now Fayze began to feel nauseous and his vision was swimming some. With a nod, he laid back onto the floor, groaning lightly. "I need some more water. . ."

As Nevia took Fayze's glass back into the kitchen, Vergil moved to Fayze's side and carefully sat him upright, removing his blood soaked jacket and shirt. His chest, back and abdomen were covered in drying blood as well, causing Vergil to sigh.

"We'd best get you a bath then, huh?" Fayze looked up at Vergil, nodding his agreement. Vergil then gently picked him up, taking him into the bathroom to bathe. He sat the boy down in the bathroom and left, leaving him on his own. Dyne laughed as Vergil hopped over the back of the couch, landing on one of the cushions and sinking back.

"Hey, where'd he go?" Nevia asked as she came from the kitchen with the refilled glass. Vergil looked up at her and pointed down the hall.

"Bath." That was all Vergil had to say for her. With a shrug, she sat the drink down on the coffee table and sunk into the couch next to Vergil, looking down at Dyne sitting on the floor in front of her.

"Well, you can relax now guys." Vergil sighed. "We've got him back, so no worries there."

Dyne nodded and stood up, yawning. "Well, I'm gonna try for a nap, if you two don't mind."

Vergil laughed. "Be my guest." He watched Dyne shuffle off toward his room, then grinned as he heard a loud clunk and Dyne swearing. It seemed his plan with Alastor had worked. With a light chuckle of satisfaction, Vergil stood and headed for the kitchen to get himself something to eat.

Dyne grumbled and growled, staring down at Alastor loathingly. He knew damn well that Vergil had propped it next to the door, as a lesson to him. He bent down, rubbing his leg before he grabbed the blade up, moving toward his bed.

He laid the sword down on the floor at the foot of the bed, then shrugged his coat off, unsnapping his holster quickly. He laid the coat and guns down on the foot of the bed, then sat down to brush some hair from his eyes.

Now seemed as good a time as ever to check on Cerbis' condition, and Dyne closed his eyes, beginning to take his shirt off. "Hey, Cerbis?" At length, there was no reply, so Dyne mentally poked him, causing the spirit to shift around.

"Hm? I'm here." Cerbis groaned weakly. Dyne frowned at his voice.

"You're still out of commission?" Dyne asked, getting a scoff for a reply.

"Of course. . .If I wasn't, I'd certainly tell you. . .I'll be around if you need anything though. . .but I'm not strong enough to lend you any power. . .only wisdom."

Dyne laughed. "Well, I'll let you know if I need any help." Cerbis nodded and seemed to curl up in his mind, trying to rest again.

Dyne laid himself back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. For some reason, he didn't feel tired anymore. Perhaps the pain in his leg from kicking Alastor had woken him up. Dyne frowned slightly thinking of his stupidity and sat back up quickly, then hopped up and started pacing the room.

Cerbis moved around groggily as Dyne started pacing. ". . .What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to think of something to do. I can't sleep."

"Well, try doing something worthwhile."

Dyne kept moving, rolling his eyes. "Like?"

Cerbis shrugged. "I don't know. . .why not read a book or something?"

Dyne stopped moving and scrunched his nose at the suggestion. "I don't read, you know that. . ."

"Well, just a suggestion, Dyne. You could try looking through those spell books of Nevia's. . .maybe learn something."

That actually seemed to appeal to Dyne at the moment. Perhaps he could try learning something. He smirked to himself and shrugged. "Why not?"

Cerbis blinked and seemed to be in disbelief. "You're kidding, right? You never want to do anything that has to do with learning."

"If it'll teach me how to kill demon's better, I'm willing to learn." Dyne laughed to himself.

"I believe that. . ."

Dyne quietly strode from his room, coming into the living room as Nevia turned her head around to see him, frowning.

"I thought you were going to take a nap?"

"Couldn't sleep." Dyne quickly looked over at the bulky books that Fayze had left laying on the floor next to the little book shelf. He went over and picked one up, flipping through it some. There were hundreds of pages of spells, but many of them Dyne couldn't read.

Nevia watched Dyne curiously, soon standing and coming over to him. "What are you looking for, Dyne?"

Dyne smiled up at her, then tapped the book with one finger. "I want to learn these spells, but I can't really read them."

"You? Learn?" Nevia scoffed. "That's new. Are you feeling alright Dyne? Sick or something?" Dyne scowled at her for her sarcastic tone, then looked back at the book and sighed.

"I just want to learn some spells. . .Come on. . ."

Nevia rested herself on his shoulders, looking over him and at the book. "If you like, I can tell you what it says. . .and how to do the spells. Or do you not want help from a girl?"

Dyne laughed at that. Nevia was probably the strongest willed woman he'd ever encountered; sometimes even seeming bitchy. But, he knew that she really wasn't that bad. It was just that he annoyed her to no end. "I'd love your help."

Nevia blinked, not really expecting him to accept her offer. She gave him a thin smile and nodded. "Alright. . .let's see here. . ." She slowly began to flip through the book, looking through categories until she stopped at a heading that read 'Pyros'. "Okay, let's get you started by teaching you fire spells."

"Goody. I can burn things."


	15. Chapter 15: Magic's Confusing

I'll have to say, that this is probably one of the more boring chapters I've had yet…please excuse that, but it's important, really…And I barely got certain parts out, thanks to Chasm for a little help there…you helped me clear my mind a bit on this. (bows lightly to Chasm) I might be a bit slow on updating, since I've been doing some other work as well.

Chapter 15

Fayze stepped out from the bathroom, buttoning up a long sleeved white dress shirt he had been given to wear. His damp hair hung low to his eye brows, and he brushed them to the side as well as he could. He wiped some of his own blood off of his pack of cigarettes that he had saved from his bloody jacket, then stuck them into the chest pocket of his shirt. Although he felt refreshed from the shower, his head still throbbed from the blood lose, and he swayed some as he walked into the living room. He tried to clear his mind as best he could, as to not worry anyone.

A thin smile crossed Fayze's face as he saw Dyne and Nevia. Both were sitting on the carpet near the bookshelf, looking over one of Nevia's tomes. Nevia was sitting quite close to him, pointing things out in the book and explaining what the spells said and such. Dyne would nod his understanding every now and then, and ask questions about the spells as well.

Fayze decided to come over and see how well Dyne was progressing. "So, how're you doing here?"

Dyne smirked up at him coolly. "Learned to harness fire and we're working on earth. Nevia thinks that those two would be best compatible for me to use." Dyne explained.

Nevia giggled to herself. She seemed to be acting more and more social and open around Dyne, and Dyne was acting less and less cocky around her. "Of course, you've got innate skills in both elements. Just look at your personality; strong, brave I suppose, thick headed, stubborn, hot tempered. . ." She snickered. "You're perfect for both elements."

"Gee, thanks for the compliment." Dyne grumbled sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Fayze smiled lightly at that, and shrugged. "Well, people are born with certain elemental traits. Also, you're demon blood might help somewhat. Demons are usually bound within an element. For example, Shadow's have the darkness, Frosts with ice, Kyclops' use earth, Homromsi use fire elements, most flying demons could be associated with the wind element."

Dyne was now getting a bit confused at this point. "Okay, so as a demon. . .I have an elemental trait? So how do I know what it is?"

"Well, it's most likely earth as your demon element. I noticed that most of the wolf demons can use earth magic, but they usually don't rely on any magic, since they're trying to live like humans. But as a human, you have an element as well, which is most likely the fire element that you've apparently learned."

Dyne sighed with frustration now, all this talk of elemental attributes confusing the hell out of him. "Can we just not worry about _how_ I can do this and just continue learning them?"

Nevia grinned at this point and grabbed his jaw lightly, pulling his head to look back at the books. Fayze shrugged and headed into the kitchen, sitting across from Vergil, who was placidly sitting, drinking a cup of coffee.

Fayze looked over at the coffee pot, seeing that it was nearly empty. He wondered why Vergil would be drinking so much of the stuff, but shook the question off.

Vergil looked up at him quietly, a withered frown on his face. Fayze wondered what was wrong, but he didn't know about Vergil being attacked by the serpent earlier that day while he had been out of commission.

Vergil's body ached horribly from the assault. He felt like his energy had been squeezed from his body. Perhaps it was from having stayed up for four days straight and only getting one night of rest. He hoped that he could sleep as well tonight as he had the night before. That would certainly put him into better shape.

He moved his head some to take a look at the living room clock. Fayze had taken quite a long shower, so it seemed, and it was now mid afternoon-half past 4. Vergil hadn't realized that they had been out hunting for that long. On the way home, Nevia had explained to him what had happened to them in the alley, but that had only taken a few minutes. The more time enduring part of the outing had been the actual walk within the area, he supposed.

Vergil didn't have time to worry about it at the moment. His body was tired, as was his mind. He stood up slowly and left silently, abandoning the remainder of his coffee as he headed off to his room without a word.

Fayze picked up the coffee cup, sniffing it, then wrinkled his nose. How anyone could drink this stuff was beyond him. He took it and dumped the offending liquid down the sink, then headed into the living room to lie on the sofa. He laid facing Dyne and Nevia, so that he could watch their progress.

Dyne snickered from where he sat, then looked over toward the couch. At first, Fayze thought he was looking at him, but then noticed that his eyes were focused on the coffee table. Fayze glanced down at the table, seeing that the only things there were two cup coasters, a small book, and the remote control for the TV.

"Okay, let's see how this goes…" Dyne grumbled, staring hard at the coffee table. Fayze grinned as every object on the top started moving in twitchy motions, then laughed as they all slid off to the floor in Dyne's direction.

"What, working on psychic now? I thought you two were doing earth magic?" Fayze laughed, sitting up and picking up the objects. "Did you give up already?"

Nevia smiled lightly. "Actually, no. We're done with it, and now we're working on something else." She explained. Dyne grinned wide, quiet content with his movement. Of course, he'd had Cerbis lazily give him some advice and help, but he wasn't going to tell them that.

Fayze stared at her as he sat the items down, dropping a coaster. "Wait, what? You're done with it? But it takes days, weeks, sometimes months to learn how to use magic! You must not have taught him much."

"Honestly, I didn't." Nevia smiled. "There's really not as much to using the elements as people seem to think. It's just a matter of invoking the talent."

One of Fayze's ashy brows arched high to his forehead. "Wait, but it takes complicated spells, concentration, and skill to use all that! There's no way he could have learned how to use the stuff already!"

"You're wrong there kiddo." Nevia corrected. "It's only when you don't have natural compatibility with an element that you need spells or extreme concentration. Think about it…when I use magic, I don't need to concentrate much on it. That's because I'm using things that come naturally. Dyne here is pretty good with fire it seems, but not nearly as adept as he is with earth."

Fayze shook his head, massaging his temples lightly. "How do you know that he's proficient with those? Don't tell me you're letting him strike up flames here in the house!"

"No, of course not. I wouldn't trust Dyne with a match in here." She giggled, smiling with satisfaction as she caught the cross look on Dyne's face. "It's true pal, get used to it."

Dyne shrugged and leaned over against the book shelf. "So I haven't actually _tried_ anything yet…If Nevia says I'm skilled, then I must be. She wouldn't say that about me unless she meant it."

"He's got a point there, I wouldn't." Nevia stated, smirking back up at Fayze.

"But if he hasn't even tried the stuff out, then how do you _know_ that he can use them?" Fayze argued, feeling a bit annoyed about all this. It seemed preposterous that Dyne could learn spells, magic, psychic abilities, or any other demon skills in a matter of hours, when he himself had spent half his life learning all of it.

"Well Fayze, I have a certain sense with these things. I can tell what he's good at, and what he's not, so let's just leave it at that, okay?"

Dyne gave a lopsided smirk. He was quite impressed that the girl was standing up for him. That was a first for him, really.

Fayze crossed his arms over his chest, looking down to the book in Dyne's lap. "If he's supposedly has some kind of innate ability to use magic, then why the hell are you bothering to teach him various spells? What's the point in that?"

"I'm giving him an idea of some of the things he could do." Nevia explained. "The book tells descriptions of the spells, along with how they are preformed. I figured Dyne could tinker around a bit and see what works for him."

Fayze sighed, massaging his temples again. It seemed that the lose of blood was getting to him again, and his legs felt somewhat weak under his weight. "Perhaps I should do as Vergil and get some rest…I'm not exactly feeling too well."

Dyne nodded, as did Nevia. "Yeah, you get some rest, man. You don't need to be running around much after dying like that." Dyne said with a grin. Fayze nodded and left slowly to his and Dyne's room, dragging his feet some.

After he was gone, Dyne looked over to Nevia. "I wanna go try these abilities now. Can we please?"

"Well, I don't see why not…" Nevia knew there were people after him, but if they attacked, she'd be ready. "But, where do you want to do this?"

Dyne closed the book in front of him, then sat it down. "Hmm. . .how about that hill where we fought that demon? The big snake guy?"

"Yeah, I know where. That'd be an excellent place." She stood and gave Dyne a hand up, then adjusted her clothes. "Okay, get your stuff and we'll head out."

Dyne nodded, then hurried off to his room. Nevia took the time to get her own sword, and then headed to the kitchen as she strapped it to her side.

She stopped just before she came to the kitchen, looking out the window along the wall adjacent to the kitchen. Their room happened to be at one end of the complex, and she could see numerous other buildings outside. She smiled, seeing a few black birds perched in a tall, leafless tree near the apartment building.

Dyne came back rather quickly, throwing his coat down onto the couch as he began getting his holsters on. As he slipped on the coat, he looked over at Nevia curiously, who was just leaned against the windowsill, staring off.

"Hey, I'm ready any time Nev." Dyne said, hoping to gain her attention. She did turn, looking over at him with a mellow look on her face.

"Already? My, someone's eager." She grinned softly, moving from the window, then to the front door. "This won't take long I hope…"

Dyne smirked and headed out the door as she held it open for him. "Nah, it'll be cake."

The two headed out of the complex quietly, both walking along next to each other. Dyne stuffed his hands into the pockets, watching the surroundings cautiously. Nevia couldn't blame him really; no telling when someone might jump them.

Nevia watched the sky and rooftops, and Dyne glanced over at her, wondering what she was looking for. If they were to be attacked, it would probably be someone sneaking out from an alleyway or from behind something, not from the roofs. He shrugged lightly, walking on.

After a short time gazing upward, Nevia smiled and moved a little closer to Dyne, wrapping her arm around his. Dyne went ridged for a moment, looking over at her in question. What the hell was she thinking? She didn't. . .like him that much. . .did she?

Dyne gave a small cough and blinked. "Um, what are you doing?"

Nevia frowned up at him. "What? You don't like it? I'm just trying to look like an inconspicuous couple here." She smiled thinly, seeing a light blush go across Dyne's face. "I'm not gonna bite or anything, but I'll leave you be, if you want me to."

Dyne chuckled lightly and grinned. "No, no! Stay babe, I don't mind. Just not. . .used to it is all."

Nevia gave him a quick nudge in the ribs, causing him to flinch. "What did I tell you about calling me babe?" She warned, sounding more amused than threatening. "I'm no babe, Dyne."

"Sure you are." Dyne reassured, still smirking. "In a cool, not-so-feminine sort of way." He started snickering, but winced and stopped as Nevia nudged him again, this time a bit harder.

"So I don't act like a sissy girl, so what? Would you prefer me to be the helpless damsel, constantly pleading for your help? Begging for you to rescue me during any small conflict?" She scoffed lightly. "I hang out with a tough ass like Vergil, like I could even consider being a wimp. Around him you've got to be tough, and I was like that anyways."

Dyne blinked. "Hey, I was wondering. . .are you and Vergil. . .Going out or something?"

Nevia gave him a disgruntled look. "Me? Dating him?? You can't be serious!?" She started laughing, leaning against Dyne a little. "No way! We're just partners! Besides, he sees me more as a daughter than anything else. We tease each other a bit, nothing more." She explained, her voice sounding slightly humored. "Do you think I'd be hanging on you right now if he and I were really dating?"

"Well, maybe…Maybe you're both having a slump or something…how am I to know?" Dyne shrugged, but winced as he was nudged again.

"I like it better when you're quiet. You don't say stupid things." Nevia groaned.

"Gee, thanks." Dyne grumbled, letting his head droop. He watched his feet as they went along.

"Aw, isn't that sweet? You two make a nice couple there." Someone said sarcastically from behind the two. Dyne turned, seeing the tall, bulky, blonde haired figure standing only feet away. Dyne's eyes narrowed and he growled, moving back a step and taking his arm away from Nevia.

"YOU!" Dyne snarled. Reese just grinned, his huge arms crossing his chest.

"And what are you going to do about it, Sparda brat?" Reese sneered still, causing Dyne to clench his fists. He hated when someone grinned at him like that. He quickly materialized his gauntlet, squatting down some into a fighting stance. Nevia reacted much in the same way, drawing her sword.

Reese scoffed, then backed up a bit. "You're too weak to stand up against the faction. You should just give up and join us, kid." Dyne growled, not taking too kindly to being called 'kid'.

"I'll show you kid, asshole!" Dyne growled, charging at him. Reese suddenly spun around, making a run for it. He was definitely fast for seeming to be a human, and at that size too. Dyne kept after him, hearing Nevia yell something behind him, but paid it no heed. "Get back here, you bastard!"

Nevia had no choice but to follow Dyne. She knew damn well this was a trap, and apparently Dyne wasn't listening to her. She watched as Reese turned into a narrow alleyway, Dyne following him closely. "Damn it Dyne! You idiot!!" She had no choice but to pursue them, running into the alley as well.

Reese was stopped at the end of the alley, looking up at a tall brick wall before him. He turned around slowly, a smirk spread across his face. Dyne stopped about ten feet in front of him, also grinning.

"What do you have to look so smug about?" Dyne growled, edging a bit closer. Reese made no move, only stood there.

"You're a fool, Sparda brat. My master will have you. . .one way or another…" Reese chuckled lightly, only causing Dyne to become more infuriated.

"Shut your trap…" As Dyne moved closer, he heard Nevia yell from behind him, then turned.

Nevia was turned around, her sword drawn as she backed away from a large group of men. Dyne quickly counted at least twelve of them, each armed quite well compared to the last bunch he'd fought. Each had either a rather large knife, or a small, old looking gun. Nevia glared at him as she backed away.

"I tried to tell you this was a trap!" She growled.

Dyne grinned wickedly as he watched them move forward. "So what? At least I get to practice on them."

Well, that's about enough today I think. I'm seriously trying to shorten these things, as to make them less tedious on any readers…(looks around at the tiny handful as crickets chirp) Oh well…Anyways, I'd love some reviews, really, seriously…But if you don't wanna, I'd understand…I'll try to update soon…


	16. Chapter 16

Oookay, this took me forever to get out. . .Sorry to those who care. (bow) We have action today though! Mwahahah!!

Oh, I don't own DMC, everyone but Dante and Vergil and anyone you know from DMC are mine. Take them I stab you with a blunt spoon. Unless you have my permission.

Chapter 16

Dyne felt something hit him hard in the back of the head, causing him to stumble forward. He yelled out in pain, whipping around quickly to face whoever had just hit him. Reese was standing there, a small, broken baton in his hand. He looked at it in surprise, and then looked at Dyne with the same gaze.

"My God, Sparda brat! You got one hell of a thick head there!" He laughed, throwing the broken weapon aside. Dyne didn't see this as a laughable matter, and he snarled, lunging forward at the human. Just as he lashed out with his gauntlet, Reese stepped to the side, grabbing Dyne's arm and bringing his knee up into his stomach.

It certainly didn't feel like he'd just been kicked by a human, and Dyne doubled over, gasping. He felt Reese let him go, and then felt him slam his fists down into his back, causing him to hit the ground. As he hit, he heard Nevia yell something from behind him, which gave him encouragement to stand back up. His vision was partially blurred, but he could see Reese step back a few paces, chuckling to himself the entire time.

Dyne growled low in his throat, standing and staggering back a step. He glared at Reese viciously, his mind in no mood for rational thinking. As he heard another yell from Nevia behind him, Dyne spun around, seeing her slash into one of the many men around her with the flat of her sword.

Nevia was surrounded. She tried to keep attacking, but every time she would, she'd feel someone hit her. Someone grabbed both her arms, keeping her from signing any spells as another grabbed her by the hair, pulling her down backwards onto the ground. She glared up, seeing Dyne rushing into the crowd.

Dyne seemed to roar as his hand hit the first guy he came to. The man was sent forward a few feet, colliding into another and causing them both to topple over to the ground. There were three men holding Nevia down, and five more standing in his path to her.

As he ran at the closest human, Dyne felt someone grab him by the back of his coat. He quickly tugged himself out of the coat, then more freely charged forward at the others. Reese held up the coat, then sighed and chunked it to the ground.

"What are you idiots waiting for!? Attack them all at once fools!" Reese yelled in irritation. His comrades seemed to obey, and the ones that were still standing out in the street started coming into the alley. With a quick glance, Dyne counted out thirteen of them, including Reese. There were also already five guys on the ground, which meant eighteen; however, Dyne doubted they'd be getting back up.

Dyne saw an arm swing out at him from one of the men, then ducked down. After the arm cleared overhead, he brought his head up sharply into the mans lower jaw, sending him stumbling back. Dyne quickly tried to avert his attention back to Nevia, who was struggling and threw a guy off of her. Three more jumped in his place, one wrapping his arms around her torso, another grabbing her around the neck, while the other tried to get her legs, but was quickly downed with a swift kick to the groin from Nevia.

Dyne leapt over two men as they tried to tackle him, then straight at the one with his hands around the girl's neck. He grappled the guy to the ground, then rolled, throwing him away in the process.

With Dyne turned away, the others began to take advantage of it. Before Dyne could get up fully, he felt something stab painfully into his back. He snarled angrily, coming up fully and swinging his arm around behind him, backhanding his assailant across the face with Cerbis.

There was another jolt of pain in Dyne's back as he felt someone slash him across the back with a knife, causing Dyne to growl low in his throat. He jumped and spun, kicking this one in the side of the head as he did so.

Just as he landed, two other men grabbed him, one latching onto his back and the other grabbing his right arm, where Cerbis was equipped. As Dyne turned to try and shake them off, another one was waiting, then slammed his large dagger into Dyne's stomach, causing him to groan and double over slightly. Dyne glared up at him, then grabbed the guys hand, wrenching it and the dagger from his stomach. He twisted his wrist, feeling the bone snap under his grip and leering as the guy screamed in pain. Dyne head butted him in the nose, letting his hand go, then pulled the other one holding his right arm closer to him and brought his knee up into his diaphragm. He was rewarded with a loud gasp and a freed arm.

The guy on Dyne's back was easily removed by slamming himself back first into the wall. He heard his head thud into it, and felt his grip let up and he slid off Dyne's back as Dyne moved away some, charging back toward Nevia.

Unfortunately, two more came at Dyne, one moving away quickly. Dyne disregarded him and went straight for the other one, making a dash at him with Cerbis. There was a loud blast, and Dyne felt something rip through his side and straight out the other side. He was forced to stagger slightly to his left, but stayed on his feet, looking down at the bullet hole in his right side, then in the left. He sighed and turned his head, glaring over at the one he'd thought was going to leave him alone as he began to lower his gun.

Dyne blinked at him, then looked at the one he had been going after, shaking his head. "Fuckers..." He grabbed him by the head, throwing him into the one with the gun, sending both flying backwards into the wall behind them.

Suddenly, Dyne felt a hand wrap itself around his throat and push him back first into the wall of the alley. He let out a groan of pain as his sliced and stabbed back hit the brick. As he looked up, Reese was stooped over him and grinning, one arm extended to Dyne's throat, the other pointing at Nevia.

Nevia was pinned to the ground on her back, numerous men holding her there. One had her by the hair, while others held each of her arms and legs. She couldn't sign any spells, but tried to thrash as well as possible, bucking and arching her back, but couldn't get her legs or arms free.

"LET ME GO!!" Nevia hissed viciously, never feeling so helpless. These men looked like normal humans, but their aura was almost untraceable, which seemed to be why they could sneak up on one so easily. Despite looking human, something about their strength seemed inhuman. They certainly weren't as strong as Reese, but still stronger than any normal human being. So much so, in fact, that Nevia felt powerless under them, even with her demonic blood.

Dyne snarled and spat in Reese's grip, causing him to only tighten his hand. Dyne grabbed at the arm holding him, blood seeping down from his back, side, and stomach and onto the pavement. His boots slipped around in the small pool that was forming quickly, but the wounds were trying to close up.

"Give it up Sparda brat. You won't get loose, and besides. . .one wrong move could result in something very bad happening to your girl friend over there." Reese warned in a cool, almost bored voice. Dyne's icy blue eyes switched from Reese, down to Nevia, whose head had just been wretched upward by her hair.

The man holding her head sneered down at her maliciously, then back around to his comrades. There were still a few of them standing in the alley, most of them helping the injured ones. "Are we supposed to get the girl too?"

"No, she's just a trump card for the brat." Reese replied, keeping his smirk on Dyne. "You can do with her as you please."

The guys holding Nevia exchanged looks, then all leered and looked back down at her. "Heh, permission."

Nevia's eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed into a glare. "Don't you even think about it." She advised in a calm voice. Most of the men watching scoffed at her warning, some even snickered. One of them holding her down by the leg even had the gale to touch her thigh causing her to growl low, almost animal-like, then glare at him. Dyne could see this, and snarled viciously, trying to break free again. Nevia continued glaring at her offender, ignoring Dyne. "You're going to die."

All of the men holding her down, even some just standing around scoffed and laughed at her words, even Reese, who punched Dyne smartly across the face as he tried to crane his head down to bite his arm. She tensed up as the same guy tried to move his hand up her leg more.

"Is that so?" One eyebrow arched high on Nevia's forehead as she glared at him, seeing a black shadow go across him, then away as a large black bird flew overhead, landing on an electrical wire. Her eyes followed it and she watched it perch and ruffle its feathers. The wire sagged horribly under its weight, the bird looking about the size of a large chicken. It looked down at her with a crimson eye, its head cocked to one side.

A light, twisted grin crossed Nevia's face as she looked back down at the man. "That's right." Just then, the bird flapped its wings hard, cawing loudly enough to cause everyone to look up at it, except for Dyne, who was beginning to become unconscious from being choked.

Reese frowned up at the bird. "A raven? It's a bit too late in the fall for crows to still be hanging around. . ."

Nevia laughed at his remark. "Not for mine." Suddenly, there was a strange, faint noise that seemed to become louder every second. Reese listened intently, the noise sounding almost like strange crackling or cawing.

Before anyone had time to react, about thirty large, ebony birds flew down into the alley, seeming to attack the humans around Dyne and Nevia. One flew straight into the side of Reese's head, clawing at him and flapping its wings violently. He was forced to let Dyne go, shielding his face from the animal's beak and talons.

Dyne sunk down onto the concrete, gasping and panting for air. He looked around in bewilderment, not sure of what exactly was going on. He looked up at the one that still rested on the power line and watched it swoop down, digging it's long, sharp talons into the shoulder of the one that had been trying to pester Nevia.

All of the men holding Nevia were forced to let her go as the birds started attacking them, but the largest one clung to the perverted one, gouging into the side of his head with its massive beak. The guy screamed and tried to get it off, but it only released him, flying up some and clawed at his scalp, screeching loudly. The sound was not something one would hear from a raven or a crow, but something more demonic.

The demon bird's claws sunk deep into the mans scalp as it pecked furiously at his face and eyes, the screeching still coming from its throat. Nevia grinned in satisfaction and got to her feet as the man collapsed to the ground and the giant bird released him.

Nevia stood calmly, putting one arm out and allowing the large bird to perch there. It began to groom placidly, as though it had done nothing wrong. Nevia quickly looked over at Dyne as he began to stand up, Reese struggling against a few birds near him. She stepped quietly over to Dyne, ignoring the chaos around her.

"You alright, Dyne?" She asked, putting her arm down as the bird climbed its way up to her shoulder. Dyne stared up at her and the giant bird, a confused look on his face.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Dyne asked, beginning to breath evenly again. He leaned against the wall some, holding his stomach as the wounds began to completely seal up.

"What? I thought you'd be grateful." Nevia scoffed, petting the raven on her shoulders head. It made a light crackling sound, then nuzzled her cheek, hardly stained with the blood of the man it'd just killed.

"I never said I wasn't." A smirk crossed Dyne's lips as he stared around at the scene of panic. He nodded, then slipped off his holsters and began to remove his blood soaked, tattered shirt. He looked at it crossly, then chunked it to the ground. "Gonna need another shirt now, babe."

"You better pay me back for these." Nevia warned dully, then moved past the many men and birds silently, scooping up his coat and coming back. She threw it over to him, grinning. "Don't fuck that up too now. I'm sure Vergil wouldn't be too happy."

"Of course." Dyne laughed, slipping on his holsters and the coat quickly. Both he and Nevia didn't act the least bit perturbed by the panicked and screaming voices around them, or the loud cawing of the birds.

Nevia gave Dyne a quick pat on the shoulder and sighed. "I'm going to go get Vergil. I'll be back as soon as I can." As Dyne smirked and nodded, she turned to leave, but then tilted her head back in his direction. "Why not test your magic now, eh?"

Dyne nodded again to her as she trotted off, then grinned at Reese as he grabbed the only bird attacking him now around the neck, hurling it into the wall. He then scowled at Dyne furiously, a few scratches seeping blood on his face.

"Vergil? Yes, go ahead and call in the tank. . ." Reese growled, lunging at the still smirking Dyne. Dyne jumped up and flipped over him, then landed a few feet away, turning back to grin.

"Why not? He scare ya?" Dyne chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. Without Nevia around and a keen mind, Dyne would have no problem taking care of the remaining men.

"Oh no, he doesn't scare me, but it doesn't matter if he comes, because by the time he gets here, you'll already be gone." Reese sneered as the crows began to fly off. It became rather silent in the alley suddenly, and Dyne broke the peace with a scoff.

"Well, we'll just have to see about that, now won't we?" He looked around quickly, seeing only three of the ten men left, including Reese; however, he grinned as five more came into the alleyway now. He shifted his weight some and laughed lightly. "Alright, more guests."

Reese was tiring of Dyne's childish behavior and motioned for the others to attack. Dyne's eyebrows raised some as most of them moved into a group and two of them drew pistols, aiming them at him.

Just before the men shot, Dyne spun to the side, dodging the oncoming bullets swiftly. He took toward them at a run, then jumped to the wall, running along it until he was to their side. Before they could turn to shoot at him again, he jumped off the wall and came down at one of the two with Cerbis, slamming the gauntlet into his face. Needless to say, the guy crumpled to the ground with a hard cracking sound as his head hit the pavement.

Dyne stood back up quickly as the other pointed his gun at him, then kicked it out of his hand and grabbed it as it came down. He flung the weapon high into the air and onto the roof of one of the surrounding buildings, leaving the man defenseless. Dyne swiftly moved at him, shoulder-butting him away and into a pile of trash that laid on the ground.

Now the other five came at Dyne slowly, all with either large knives or short batons like the one Reese had had. Dyne stretched his arms up into the air, groaning. He cracked his neck and knuckles, then squatted down into a fighters stance. "Come on then!"

They all seemed more than happy to, quickly trying to surround Dyne. He actually let them do so, then looked around and scoffed. "Oh dear. . .What am I gonna do now?" He laughed sarcastically, putting his gauntlet-free hand up some. Everyone hesitated as they watched him, not sure of what to do. Dyne's hand seemed to catch aflame suddenly, and he grinned, looking around at the group of opponents. "Let's warm things up a bit, eh?"

One of the guys made a jump at Dyne, but he merely ducked down low, letting him fly over him. Dyne slammed his hand palm first into the ground, then watched as the flames vanished. Everyone including Dyne stood there stiffly, waiting to see what would happen for a moment.

After about ten seconds of nothing, there were many growls of anger from the crowd, and a few mocking scoffs. Dyne sighed and stood back up, the men closing in around him now. "Uh oh. . ." Dyne smirked and just stood there.

Suddenly, a hot blast of air seemed to shoot from the ground around Dyne, blowing his hair and coat up some. The group, save one, who was just about to attack Dyne as this happened, stepped back a pace in unison as flames seemed to sprout up at Dyne's feet. They licked around him for a moment, not fazing him in the least, the spread out a few feet, catching the man that had been coming at him. The flames _did_ harm him, lighting his whole body ablaze quickly.

Dyne smirked as the guy started yelling and jumped to the ground after running a few feet, rolling to try and put himself out. The fire died away from Dyne's body slowly, and the remaining four men stared at Dyne in bewilderment, then all charged at the same time.

Dyne sighed lightly, then leapt up as they came, bringing his legs out to kick two at a time. He caught a leg around one guys head, clamping the leg into a grip around his head. He then kicked off of another's chest, spinning around with that one leg still around the guys head. There was a sharp cracking sound as the guys neck snapped, and Dyne used his leg to push himself upward, letting loose from the man and landing behind him as he fell limply to the ground.

Dyne turned around to the others, then gave them a quick taunt to dare them to come at him again. There were only three, and they'd be fools to even consider it.

Reese groaned at the small troupe, then whistled to them. "Everyone out! We'll finish this later!" He snarled, and all three of Dyne's assailants began to back off slowly, running from the alley.

Dyne smirked as Reese glared at him, a look of loathing on his face. "You're lucky this time, Sparda brat. Next time, I won't be so lenient." Reese warned, clapping his hands together once, then dashed off after the others.

Dyne grabbed Reese by the collar of his jacket, trying to pull him back. Reese merely pulled the same stunt Dyne had, slipping free of the jacket and dashing off. Before Dyne could go after him, three large spell portals opened up on the ground in front of him. He backed up slightly as three tall goat-like creatures emerged, each stretching a pair of dark, leathery wings. Dyne grinned up at them, shaking his head.

"Ah great. . .Goatlings." He scoffed, drawing the Cerbis sword from his gauntlet. He rolled to one side as one came running at him to punch him, then stabbed forward, sending it stumbling back a step with the blow. Dyne moved swiftly again as the second goatling came at him, joining the other in trying to swipe at him.

Dyne spun to the side as the two tried to attack him, seeing the third one take to the air, flapping its huge wings behind it. Dyne kept himself busy, slashing and stabbing into one of the two grounded ones, keeping his eyes on the one overhead as it began to perform magic.

"Magic Missile, eh?" Dyne snickered, grinning as the one he was barraging with his blade began to disintegrate, bellowing out a loud "Moo" sound. It always confounded Dyne why these things sounded like cows, when they were goat-like creatures.

The flying goatling shot its volley of missiles at Dyne, and he jumped up over the demon, then behind it, spinning around and slashing into its wings. With the wings wounded, it was forced to land, letting vent a frustrated sound from its throat.

Dyne landed softly on the ground, then spun back on the demons, throwing his sword into the one he'd just grounded. As the blade sunk into its chest, Dyne jumped and kicked the grip of it hard, sending the devil back into one of the walls. He'd kicked it hard enough to make the blade stab straight into the brick of the wall, which was something that wasn't impossible for his sword to do. The goatling thrashed for a moment, then fell limp, disintegrating from the swords blade and disappearing.

The remaining demon did not look to happy to see both of its brethren killed. It stretched its arms and let out a sort of roar, then charged at Dyne, head down some and arms out. Dyne sighed and withdrew one gun from his holsters, then took aim at the beast. He squeezed off one round, then grinned as the monster stumbled backwards, a well placed bullet right between the eyes. It moaned its cow-like cry, then crumbled away and vanished as the other two had.

With a scoff, Dyne replaced the gun into his holster, then put his sword away. "You think they'd learn who they're fucking with."

Just then, Dyne heard the sound of boots clacking against the pavement. As he turned to the opening of the alley, Nevia and Vergil rounded the corner, Vergil looking quite tired, and Nevia looking rather alert, the giant raven still perched on her shoulder. She gave it a light kiss on the side of its face, and it took flight, disappearing over one of the rooftops.

"Dyne!" Vergil yelled, running next to him. "Are you alright?" He looked Dyne over, seeing if there were any wounds on him. Other than some of his own sticky blood on his chest, stomach, and the rim of his pants, he seemed to be fine. Dyne rolled his head around, cracking his neck in the process.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He assured, smirking. He looked around behind him to the men that lay on the ground. "Damn. . .Didn't mean for it to be that bad. . ." He frowned, realization dawning on him. He had just killed humans. . .He'd _been_ killing humans. Well, at least they seemed human. . .He shook his head, trying to shake off that thought. They couldn't be human. No humans could move like these, nor could they hide their presence. But they smelled and seemed human, not giving off the slightest hint of a demonic aura.

Dyne managed to let the thought go as he looked down at his feet, seeing Reese's large, denim jacket. He picked the thing up, then began to dig through the pockets. He stopped as his hand touched something flat, then withdrew it.

It seemed to be nothing but a folded up piece of paper, the edges worn some with use. Dyne unfolded it, staring at the front of in curiously. There was some writing on it, but nothing Dyne could understand. Vergil watched him as the young hunters head cocked to the side some.

"What is it Dyne?" Dyne looked up at his uncle shrugging.

"I don't know. . .Here, take a look." He handed the paper up to Vergil, who took it carefully and inspected the writing. Nevia looked from his side, blinking at it. "Any clue what it is?"

"Hmm. . .Looks like runes." Vergil said, studying the writing still. Dyne cocked his brows, his head still cocked some.

"Isn't that a type of Norse language or something?" Dyne asked, earning a nod from Vergil and Nevia both.

"Something like that, yes." Vergil agreed, staring at the paper. Nevia sighed, shaking her head.

"I can't read this though. . .Don't know runic." She admitted, shrugging. Vergil shrugged as well, passing the paper back to Dyne.

"I don't understand it either. Perhaps if I had a book with the language, I could translate it out of the symbols, but I don't have a book on it, and neither does Nev."

Dyne stared at the paper for a few more moments before folding it back up. "Should I toss it then?"

"No, don't throw it away!" Nevia argued. "It might be important. Keep it." Dyne nodded, stuffing the strange piece of paper into his coat pocket.

Vergil sighed once again, motioning for Dyne and Nevia to come with him, leading them back to the apartment. As they came to the front steps, Vergil stretched and groaned lightly. "When we get in, I'm going back to sleep. I'm too damn tired to be running around right now."

Dyne nodded. "Hell yeah. I could do with a good nights sleep." He'd spent all day learning magic and fighting; of course he was tired. Not even he could take on a mob of pissed false-humans, a massive serpent, carry a dead guy two miles home, take on an even bigger mob of pissed false-humans and get his ass kicked around a bit, then three weak ass goatlings and not feel at least a little fatigued. He would certainly welcome the soft, clean mattress of the bed; that is, as soon as he took a shower.

Dyne hurried past Vergil and Nevia, yelling back to Nevia as he climbed the stairs to the second floor. "Can I get some fresh clothes too? Just a shirt. These trousers will be fine, they just need to be washed is all."

Nevia sighed, nodding slowly. "Yeah yeah. . .I'll get you a new shirt. But if I'm washing your pants, what the hell are you gonna wear? I am _not_ letting you run around my place in nothing but your boxers."

"Don't worry, Nev." Vergil reassured. "He can borrow a pair of mine again." Dyne scoffed and shrugged his shoulders, taking his belt off as he got to the door of the room.

"Guess I'm gonna be running around looking ghetto again." He laughed, pushing the door open. No one was out in the living room. It was completely silent, but not a haunting silence, a welcoming one.

Vergil seemed to feel the same about the peace; perfect for trying to sleep. He stretched his arms high, letting vent a long, loud yawn. "I'm out guys. I'll see you both in the morning." Both Dyne and Nevia nodded to him as he left and shut his bedroom door behind him, Dyne quickly heading for the bathroom.

As he got to the door, Vergil's door opened slightly, his hand coming out and tossing a pair of dark blue jeans out, obviously for Dyne. Dyne picked the trousers up, then went into the bathroom.

Now Nevia felt lonely, and wished she hadn't sent that raven away. He was one of her only friends, always watching out for her from afar. His name was Blude, and he might have been a demon, but she thought he was quite a majestic creature.

"Can't wait until this is over. . .I can leave and find a nice place to relax for a few weeks, alone and with just Blude." She thought, going to the kitchen for a glass of water. As she filled the glass, a quick thought struck her. "What about Dyne?" She made a face at the thought, sighing. He had been trying to be as kind to her as he could, and she had. . .kissed him?

Nevia shook her head, trying to forget about it. Why had she done that anyways? It was completely unlike her. Besides. . .Dyne was an immature little child practically. There was nothing she could see in him. . .except for. . .his eyes, his hair, his face, his. . .slim, tone body, his rear. . .even that crooked smirk of his. . .She groaned lightly, drinking the water down in one gulp.

"Shit, I fell for him. . .Great." She thought somewhat irritably, slamming the glass down onto the counter. She couldn't let Dyne know that. . .Not right now. If he knew she liked him, he'd try to go off and protect her constantly from trouble. One thing she'd always been taught was that when you have someone to protect, it always makes a fight harder. You can get distracted too easily from the major problem, worrying more about the person you're trying to protect.

She'd seen Dyne act that way on more than one occasion. He'd cared more about helping Dante those few years back than fighting her, which would have ultimately caused him to be killed if their fight hadn't been interrupted. He'd been trying to protect her on two occasions now, and neither had gone well on his part.

So, telling Dyne that she liked him was completely forbidden, at least for now. She wondered if he cared for her back though. Obviously he did, or he wouldn't risk himself to try and help her. She couldn't let him know that she cared as much as she did for him though.

Nevia decided that it was best not to worry about it for the time being, so she quickly headed back into the living room, flopping down onto the sofa. She grabbed a small book on the coffee table, then laid back to read.

After only ten minutes or so, Dyne came out of the bathroom, brushing his damp hair out. He came out into the living room, standing at the side of the couch and looking down at Nevia. Nevia looked up at him, trying not to grin. He was wearing the trousers Vergil had given him, which certainly didn't seem to fit well. They were held up tightly with a long belt, and the tail of the belt hung down to his mid thigh. Other than the jeans and belt, he was bare.

"Much better." Dyne stated, smirking lightly. He watched as Nevia stood, setting the book down and stretching.

"Great. Look, I'm going to get some sleep, okay? You should do the same." Dyne nodded to her, then she brushed past him, patting his shoulder. "Sleep well, okay?"

Dyne nodded again, watching her leave before flouncing down onto the couch. He yawned and stretched, then curled up warmly, gently nodding off to sleep.

There was a small yard around the rather normal looking home, and within it, two boys ran about, chasing one another. Both had brilliant snowy white hair, and looked exactly alike, except that one was a little bigger than the other.

The bigger one tackled the smaller to the ground, both laughing and giggling as they rolled. The smaller one managed to get to where he could sit on the older, pinning him down.

The older of the two twins laughed, not used to being beaten by his brother. He bucked to try and get him off, but the younger would not budge. The older brother looked up at him, frowning lightly. He'd never had his brother pin him like this. He could always manage to overpower the boy.

"Okay Dante, you win. Get off me." Vergil submitted, sighing. He tried to shift out from under Dante, but his brother seemed to become impossible to move. Vergil sighed again, then stared up at him. "Off, now."

Dante smirked lightly, chuckling. It wasn't a sound Vergil had ever heard from Dante, at least not in that tone. He sounded older, and the sound was a bit shrewd and wicked.

"No." Dante's voice was still rather odd, and everything around them seemed to become dark. Vergil struggled under him, but to no avail. This was not Dante. . .As Vergil stared at his eyes, he could see them begin to turn to a blackish purple.

What the hell was going on here?


	17. Dreams, Pubs, and Trains

Hurray to updates! I'm sorry this took so long, I've had a HORRIBLE case of writers block. . .the kind that won't even go away with a ton of TNT. . .But finally, I got it done! Yay! I've been working on a silly web comic, and doing lots of other stuff as well, which has been taking away my writing time somewhat. I mean to finish this story before the new year. . .I hope. Still so much to do. . .I hope my writing skills aren't lacking here. . .Wait, what writing skills? . Never mind, just hope you enjoy! I don't think I did spelling well, let me know if you see errors though. ;;  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own DMC, Capcom does! Dyne and Nev and all them are mine though, all but Dante, Vergil (Virgil, however it's spelled), and anyone from the games are not mine of course.  
  
Chapter 17 Dreams, Pubs, and Trains  
  
Vergil woke up with a start, gasping and sitting up quickly, holding his bare chest. He could feel his heart slamming as adrenaline pumped through his body. Sweat was beaded on his chest and face, chilling quickly with the cold night air.  
  
The frigid night didn't bother Vergil in the least, of course. He'd lived in the underworld. . .there were some area's there far colder than this. It was more of the cold feeling of fear running through him that bothered him.  
  
"Not again. . ." Vergil grumbled, beginning to shiver some as the adrenaline started to leave his body. He sighed, then began to rub his temples gently. He'd been having the same dream now for the past month, and in the last week he'd been having it almost every night. . .except for the night before this one. The only night he'd actually slept well in the past week.  
  
Vergil slid his legs over the side of the bed, then sighed. The person in his dream couldn't have been Dante. Vergil could still vividly remember the childish chuckles the person had made, and then he had put his arm out, making it turn a deep black color…He'd stabbed Vergil in the chest, but. . .it hadn't hurt. It felt as though he'd been hit with a liquid or a gel. . .and it had been trying to seep into his body from his chest. The feeling still lingered in Vergil's chest, even after he'd woken up.Vergil quickly stood up, grabbing his jeans and a muscle shirt from the end of his bed. He got dressed, then stretched, still feeling horribly tired and even more drained now. He didn't care that it was cold, perhaps that would help calm him and pushing what lingered of the dream from him.  
  
He stumbled out of his room, trying to be silent, but failing. His shoulder hit the door frame as he left the room, causing him to hiss lightly.  
  
As he headed down the hall to the living room, he could see that the television was still turned on. He stood behind the couch, seeing Dyne sprawled out on the sofa, just wearing a pair of baggy jeans. One of his arms was draped over his stomach, the other laying behind his head some. He was just laying there peacefully, and Vergil had to envy him. At least he was getting some rest. . .unlike himself.  
  
Vergil turned after a moment of watching Dyne, then headed for the dark kitchen. He tried to be quiet again, but once again, he was unsuccessful. His knee caught one of the chairs at the table, which had been pulled out slightly and not pushed back in after someone had left the table. He cursed as the chair rammed into the table, making quite a racket.  
  
With a low growl, Vergil shoved the chair into its rightful place angrily, then went to the sink. He dug into one of the overhead cabinets where the cups and glasses were kept, causing the glasses to tink into each other with a high, chiming sound.  
  
Dyne obviously couldn't help but be woken by Vergil's rummaging, and blinked his eyes open, groaning lightly. He was thankful to whoever had just woken him, since he had just found himself dreaming of darkness once more.  
  
 He slowly got to his feet, then stretched his arms over his head, yawning lightly. He could hear someone digging around in the kitchen, then heard the tap turn on at the sink, and the sound of the rushing water going into a glass.  
  
Curious of who was up, Dyne stood and slowly slinked into the kitchen, scratching his chest. He could see his uncle, resting his arms on the countertop and stooped over some, the mans breathing a bit heavy. Dyne watched him for a moment as he brought a hand to his head, sighing heavily. Dyne slowly came up behind him, and jumped as Vergil turned, staring at his nephew in bewilderment.  
  
Vergil watched the young demon hunter in a slight state of shock. He hoped that Dyne hadn't seen his weakened condition. . .He didn't want any questions asked. To Vergil's misfortune, the boy cocked his head and began to speak.  
  
"Verg? What's wrong?" Dyne asked almost to spite Vergil. Vergil narrowed his eyes slightly before answering.  
  
"Nothing of your concern, Dyne." He said flattly. "Go back to sleep."  
  
Dyne shrugged, a smirk crossing his face. "Come on, I know there's something wrong. You haven't slept well in days, have you? What's the cause of that?" He stared Vergil right in the eyes, as if trying to force him to answer.  
  
Vergil was silent for some time, but then finally slumped his shoulders slightly, his hair dropping haphazardly over his eyes. He looked almost as though he'd been defeated somehow. ". . .Just nightmares."  
  
One of Dyne's eyebrows raised on his forehead. "Dreams? Not like. . .mine. . .right?"  
  
Vergil gave a faint nod, his hair flopping with his head. "I'm not sure. . .It's. . .as if. . ."  
  
"Someone's trying to possess your body?" Dyne finished, earning another stunned look from Vergil. Dyne frowned at the look, knowing he was right. "Aw, shit. . .Not you too."  
  
"Apparently so." Vergil sighed, rubbing his temples again. "But why me? What would they have to gain from me?"  
  
"A big, strong ass Sparda is what they'd have." Dyne said, running a hand through his hair. "They want any strong warriors they can find, so that there's no one to fight against them."  
  
Vergil scowled at Dyne, feeling as though his nephew was trying to explain it to him as though he was ignorant of the information. "I know that, boy."  
  
"I know you know. I'm just saying it again to remind you." Dyne's smirk widened slightly as he said this, but afterward if faded as he caught the rather displeased look on Vergil's face. It didn't seem as though his uncle was in a humored mood, but Dyne couldn't blame him for that. "Sorry. . ."  
  
Vergil shook his head lightly, then sighed again. "It's alright. . .I just wish I could sleep is all." He quickly started from the kitchen, brushing past Dyne.  
  
"Where are you going?" Dyne wondered, turned as Vergil quickly went into the living room. His uncle turned, smiling wirely.  
  
"I'm going to the pub to get a drink. I won't be long." Vergil explained, turning back away. Dyne grinned and trotted along behind him, but the bigger man turned around, frowning down at his nephew. "And where do you think you're going?"  
  
"With you, of course. I won't be able to sleep now. . .Not tired at all anymore." Dyne admitted with a shrug. Vergil stared at him with a withered frown for a moment, then nodded.  
  
"Fine, fine. . .Come on then. I just need a drink or two to relax." Vergil gave Dyne no time to say anything, and just headed from the apartment room quickly, forcing Dyne to hurry along after him after quickly grabbing his coat.  
  
Vergil kicked the door to the pub open, the stench of cigerrette smoke and booze pouring out from the doorway. Dyne wrinkled his nose at it, but Vergil made no disgusted expression, his eyes just half closed as they had been though the entire walk over to the bar. Dyne shivered and looked around outside before going in, then cold of then night bitting into his bare chest. Vergil hadn't given him enough time at all to actually put a shirt on, and he'd only managed to snatch up his trench coat. That really wasn't keeping him very warm right now though.  
  
Dyne followed Vergil inside, the warmth of the building seeming almost welcoming. However, the thick smoke lingering in the air was not so welcoming, causing Dyne's eyes to sting slightly. He took a seat as Vergil sat down at a small table, then began to look around the pub.  
  
There were numerous people there tonight, it seemed. Many of the tables were taken, many men chatting and laughing with one another. Dyne leaned back in his chair some, his arms resting behind his head. Vergil sat, slumped over in his chair, looking pretty worn down. Dyne knew a good nights rest or two would help shape him up, and perhaps a few drinks would help him to get to sleep.  
  
At least Dyne didn't feel like he was the only one being sought after anymore. This faction or whatever wanted Vergil now too, it seemed. So that made three of them. . .But better that they were all together, in Dyne's opinion. At least now they stood a better chance of not being caught.  
  
Vergil was quick to call the waiter over, asking for a bottle of whiskey. The waiter then stalked off, and Dyne watched him go through a door behind the counter. Why he would need to go into a storage room to get a bottle of booze when there was plenty in the rows of shelves behind the counter was beyond Dyne though. He sighed, taking a look around the pub as they waited. He frowned suddenly as he noticed something peculiar. He couldn't sense anything; nothing what so ever. . .Except for himself, Vergil, and a few of the occupants of the pub, but only a few.  
  
"What's wrong Dyne?" Vergil asked, cocking a brow. His eyes were still half closed and he could see a stern and alert look on Dyne's face.  
  
"Something's. . .not right. . ." Dyne answered, keeping his voice low. The room had suddenly become rather quiet for a pub, and that bothered Dyne all the more. "I think we should get out of here."  
  
Before Vergil could say a word, he caught a glimpse of someone move behind Dyne, then looked up to see who it was. Before he could shout a warning, Dyne was picked up off the ground by the back of the neck, causing him to yelp in surprise. Despite Vergil's fatuige, he managed to stand quickly, glaring at the tall blonde that held Dyne suspended in the air.  
  
"Hello, Reese." Vergil greeted coldly. Reese only sneered at him, then held Dyne a bit higher. Dyne growled and snarled, kicking his legs frantically.  
  
"Evening Vergil." Reese greeted with a nod, his grin still playing across his face. "This has nothing to do with you, Vergil. Just the lad here." Vergil narrowed his eyes, watching Dyne continue to struggle.  
  
"What? Trying to capture him again? I know you're after me as well." Vergil growled lightly with his words, seeming to amuse Reese further.  
  
"That's not what I'm here for tonight, mate." Vergil's eyes widened slightly at this, and Reese chuckled. "I'm here to get back something your brat nephew has of mine. And if he'd be so kind as to give it ba-" Reese was cut off as Dyne managed to get a direct kick to his groin, causing him to growl in pain and drop Dyne automatically. The moment Dyne's feet hit the ground, he whirled around, headbutting Reese in the chin as he instinctively doubled over.  
  
Reese stumbled back, falling into one of the tables behind him. The occupants of the table quickly jumped up, all glaring at Dyne and Vergil. Dyne recognized one of them as one of the survivors from the alley fight earlier that afternoon, and grinned.  
  
"Back for more, eh?" Dyne laughed, his eyes searching around the room to see a number of men begin to get up. Vergil was standing now as well, but he was unarmed. However, that wouldn't keep him from being able to fight, and Dyne knew it.  
  
Dyne's eyes widened as he saw most of the men begin to draw guns. He quickly bolted for the bar counter, then lept up onto it, sliding down it some as he heard the loud shots of guns. The men apparently couldn't keep up with him, and he quickly hopped behind the counter, ducking down. There was no bartender around, obviously he'd gone into hiding, or had been amongst the factioneers.  
  
Vergil quickly kicked the table over, hiding behind the round, wooden structure. No one seemed to be shooting at him, all of them keeping their focus on Dyne. He decided to make a mad dash for the counter, leaping over it quickly and moving into a crouch next to Dyne.  
  
"Well, this is just peachy." Vergil grumbled as the shots died off. Neither of them were armed, and it seemed like they were certainly outnumbered. "You do know magic now, right Dyne?" Dyne gave him a confident nod, then there was a loud growling from the other side of the counter.  
  
"You fucking lil bastard!" Reese's voice boomed from where he'd fallen. He stumbled to his feet, then withdrew his shotgun, taking aim at the counter. Dyne and Vergil both heard the sound of the hammer cock, and both flattened themselves onto the ground as best as they could.  
  
There was the deafening sound of the shotgun going off, and the pellets sprayed onto the counter and over it, bursting open a few bottle on the shelves. Both Dyne and Vergil sat back up, Dyne being greeted with a full, unbroken bottle of mead falling into his lap.  
  
Vergil blinked at the bottle, then snatched it up, not having had his drink he'd come for yet. He unscrewed the top with one quick flick of his fingers, then swilled down half of the contents before Dyne pulled the bottle and top away from him, rescrewing the cap back on. All was silent in the pub, except for the sound of a few pairs of feet shuffling around.  
  
"If you give me back what's mine, we might consider letting you go for tonight, Sparda brat." Reese snapped, reloading his shotgun. Dyne cocked a brow, staying behind the counter.  
  
"What in the hell are you talking about?" Dyne yelled in question. "I don't have anything of yours!"  
  
"Bullshit lad! You took something from my jacket, and I want it back, now!" Reese bellowed, holding his gun out toward the counter. Dyne blinked, reaching into his coat pocket and moving his fingers across the small peice of paper with the unknown writing on it from earlier. He'd left it in his coat after he'd gone to sleep.  
  
"What? This thing?" Dyne asked, holding it up over the counter. Reese lowered his gun some, grinning.  
  
"Yes, that. Now hand it over." Reese demanded. Dyne looked at the paper for a moemnt, then grinned, stuffing it back into his coat.  
  
"Nah, I think I'll keep it." This earned Dyne a twitch of an eye brow from Reese, along with a short, frustrated growl.  
  
"Just give me it lad! It's of no importance to you!"  
  
"Then why do you want it back so badly?" Dyne argued, finally seeming to get on Reese's last nerve. Reese snarled, then took aim at the counter with his shotgun, blasting another spray of pellets into the counter and shelves. Dyne whinced, then looked down at the half empty bottle of rum in his hand.  
  
Dyne could hear Reese reloading his gun, then smirked, quickly jumping to his feet. He flipped the bottle in his hand, to where he had it by the neck, then chunked it at Reese. Before the man could even see it coming, the bottle hit him right in the middle of the forehead, the thick glass actually shattering against his thick head.  
  
"Bullseye!" Dyne yelled, ducking back down as Reese hit the floor, the other men starting to shoot at him and the counter in retaliation. Dyne snickered and Vergil just watched him for a moment, then shook his head.  
  
"All fine and good, but now we need to get out of here." Vergil warned, grabbing a bottle of brandy as he watched it fall unbroken toward the ground.  
  
Dyne looked around, spotting the door the waiter had gone through earlier. "Try there?" If it was a storage room, they'd be screwed, since there most likely wouldn't be a window in a store room. However, it was their closest possible escape, seeing as how the front of the pub was littered with the faction brutes. . .and this time well armed too.  
  
"Worth a shot. . ." Vergil agreed. Just as he spoke, Dyne leaped up, charging for the closed door. Vergil followed as Dyne made if half way, watching the youth barrel into the door with all his weight, cracking the door off its hinges. Dyne rolled into the room, looking around quickly.  
  
With a smirk, Dyne stood, eyeing a normal sized window in the small room. He scrambled quickly to the window, slamming it open and hearing Vergil stumble into the room after him.  
  
"Make it quick lad, they're not taking their time in coming after us!" Vergil warned, looking back to see a number of the men charging at the room. Dyne made a quick nod in response, hopping through the open window. Vergil made a dive through it, rolling safely to the ground as gunshots rang behind him.  
  
"Shit that was close!" Dyne laughed, being grabbed by Vergil as he stood and started running. For being as exausted as he seemed to say he was, Vergil still had some remarkable speed.  
  
Behind them, Dyne could hear numerous yells from the men within the tavern as the two charged down the street. "Well, now what do we do?"  
  
"We run, and get home. Simple as that." Vergil stated, turning around a corner quickly and dragging Dyne after him. It took them a good three minutes to get home, Vergil barging through the door and Dyne stumbling in after him.  
  
It was still dark out, and neither Neiva or Fayze seemed to be awake yet. Dyne sighed, shrugging off his coat and tossing it onto the couch. "Well, that was fun." Vergil scowled at him for a moment.  
  
"That was not fun." He put bluntly, stumbling down the hall. "I'm going to try and get some sleep...goodnight, Dyne." Dyne watched his uncle stalk off to his room, quietly shutting the door behind him.  
  
"Well, I thought it was a blast." Dyne mumbled, shrugging and flopping down onto the sofa. He laid there, grinning to himself as he remembered seeing Reese smacked with that bottle. At least Dyne had gotten back at him in some way. . .for now. He sighed and slowly began to drift off at that point.  
  
Dyne was awakened the next morning from someone shaking him lightly. He blinked up, seeing Fayze staring down at him with his lavender eyes. Dyne wrinkled his nose, rolling over groggily. "What do you want?"  
  
"It's ten in the morning. Figured I should wake you up." Fayze explained, poking Dyne in the back of the head lightly. Dyne batted his hand away, rolling back over.  
  
"So what? I'm tired. . .Let me sleep." Dyne growled softly, a bit annoyed at Fayze for his insistant poking.  
  
"I would, but Nevia wants you up. We've got company." Fayze sounded rather bored as he said this, causing Dyne to sit up in curiosity.  
  
"Who?" Dyne pulled his legs over the side of the couch, scratching his head lightly and brushing his bangs back out of his face. Fayze gave him no answer, and just strolled off into the kitchen. Dyne couldn't help himself, and got up as well, going into the kitchen to see Nevia and someone else sitting at the table with tea or coffee. Dyne wrinkled his nose, staring at the girlish Seigren, who was sitting with his back turned to Dyne.  
  
Nevia smiled lightly as Dyne came in, waving to him. "About time you dragged your ass out of bed." Dyne only grunted in reply, moving to get him a bowl down from one of the cabinets to make some cereal. As he fixed his food, he pointed behind him, where he knew Seigren was sitting.  
  
"What's he doing here?" Dyne grumbled, grabbing the milk from the fridge.  
  
"Oh, he came to visit us for the morning." Nevia explained.  
  
"Yes," Seigren began in his soft, girlish voice. Dyne had to hold back a cackle. "I've come by to thank you for your help, since I'm leaving today."  
  
Dyne grinned at that. Honestly, he didn't like the guy, and would be happy to see him leave. He felt horribly uncomfortable around him, but he couldn't understand why exactly. "Well, sorry to see you go. . ."  
  
Seigren smiled, shaking his head. "No, I'm glad to be leaving. This place is too strange for me." He sighed, taking a sip of his drink.  
  
Dyne scoffed at this. "Yeah, I hear you there. . ." This place was beyond wierd, it was just creepy. And thanks to this place, Dyne hadn't gotten a decent days peace and quiet either. It was really starting to get on his nerves. "So, when are you leaving?"  
  
"Well, there's a train coming in today around noon. I'm going to hop on and get out of here when it comes." Seigren explained more. "I can't wait, just two hours and I can get out of here."  
  
Nevia blinked lightly at this. "Hey, Dyne? I have an idea. . .How about you and Fayze jump on that train too?"  
  
Fayze had just walked in around that point, joining Dyne in a blinking match. "What?" Both young men asked together.  
  
"Well. . .You both need to get to your fathers, right? I'm sure they're rather worried about you. . ." Nevia asked, standing to get more tea.  
  
Dyne nodded. "Yeah. . . If my dad heard that message I left on the machine, he'd be sick. And I'm sure Fayze's old man is worried too. . ."  
  
"Actually, he's probably paced a hole in the floor." Fayze agreed. "I do need to get back and give him a bit of a report. That would help soothe his mind at least. Then we can come back with our dads' and help more.  
  
Seigren smiled lightly. "An excellent idea! Maybe you can all figure out what's wrong with this place yet!"  
  
Nevia washed her hands off, deciding against the fresh cup of tea. "Well boys, get packed and ready to go then. You don't want to miss that train."  
  
And so ends that chapter! Phew. . .I don't have a clue how long it is! I hope to have the next one up in the very very near future! As...soon as I can work on it! Please review! 


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